After a few weeks that consisted of remodeling, moving, outfitting and waiting on the Columbus Health Department inspection, CaJohn’s CaBoom! Chili Company had it’s soft opening on Saturday and Sunday. Located in the new Flavor & Fire booth at The Historic North Market in Columbus, it is a combination Fiery Foods Shop and Chili Parlor. The store is still named CaJohns Flavor and FIre and opened for business in it’s new location on March 15th. The Grand Opening for the Chili Company will be tomorrow morning, April 8th. The hours will be Tuesday to Friday 10:30 - 7:00, Saturday 10:00 - 5:00, & Sunday Noon - 5:00.
The standard offerings include the old CaJohn standby, BBC Chili (Black Bean and Corn), Texas Style CaBoom! Chili and CaJohn’s Chicken Tortilla Soup. Other items are El CaBoom!, a Frito Pie sort of chili cup with layers of corn chips, chili, onions, jalapenos and cheese, nachos with Queso con CaBoom!, and you can order them with chili on top as well. There will be other chilis and soups offered on a daily basis. There are several “Side Kicks” (toppings) and while the chili’s are mild by CaJohn standards, there will be plenty of ways to kick up the heat to suit your taste. A website with all the info will be up soon. Watch for more info as I venture into my first steps as a restauranteur!
Two of the CaJohns Gourmet hot sauces have had a make-over. While the sauce has not changed, the look certainly has. Our two-time Cajun Hot Sauce Festival Grand Champion Chipotle Hot Sauce and our popular Serrano Lime have a new Southwestern look and will join the Oaxacan in our Southwest Classics line. These mid-range heat level sauces have been tremendously popular. John Meister of Albuquerque is the artist, and many of you know John as the former owner of Red Hot Tees, the official t-shirt supplier to the National Fiery Food Show and several other fiery food events. I think John has done a great job of capturing the spirit we wanted to portray with these flavors. Watch for them at the show this weekend in Albuquerque! There will be a few more surprises as well, there of course will be some cllector’s bottles unveiled, “stand by for news…”
March 15th will be a big day for my store at the North Market. We will be moving to the main concourse and will be located in stall 133. It is just around the corner from our current location, but will provide us with 50% more space, and a corner booth. This will enable us to better display and sample our products. To facilitate the move, the current store will be closed on March 14th. Opening soon after in the same stall will be CaJohns CaBoom! Chili Company, we will be offering bowls of our Championship Chili and our Award-Winning Queso for your enjoyment. Watch for more details as they become available.
Wow! What an event! I have been slow to get something up on the event, but Joe, Linda & Passow have done a fantastic job of re-capping the event. One of our long-distance visitors, Buddah, has posted his observations on Taste the Fear. Great job guys & Gal! It was as much fun for us as it was for those who attended. Thanks to everyone who has emailed and posted kind words! The great news is, WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR! Chikeheads will rule the entire day in the Dispatch Kitchen, and we will take all we have learned from last weekend’s event to make next yeay even better! Thanks to all who traveled hundreds of miles to add their own something special. Sue and I are overwhelmed by all the support. We look forward to hosting y’all again!
check out www.thehotzoneonline.com/blog/ and www.tastethefear.com for indepth coverage.
Same story, different chile…
It’s been talked about, and reviewed, and been somewhat of an Urban Legend sort of thing, but it will be there! This is quite possibly the hottest cayenne hot sauce ever made, and it was done without the use of extracts. A pure cayenne flavor with the heat of a habanero. It’s heat level is due to a process I developed with the help of a PHD in Organic Chemistry. The sauce will be available for tasting and purchase in a special preview appearance at the North Market Fiery Foods Festival this Saturday here in Columbus. It is packaged in a 5 ounce bottle and will sell for $9.00. Better heat through chemistry! Better yet, it is All-Natural!
The CaJohns Private Reseve line of BBQ sauces are going to hit the wholesale market at the Fiery Food Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have had these sauces since the spring of 2006. They have only been available through our company stores since their release, hence the “Private Reserve” name. Apple Smoked Bourbon Chipotle, Mesquite Smoked Tequila Chile Lime, Apple Smoked Spiced Rum Ancho were the first 3 released, all of which have won the coveted Golden Chile. Mesquite Smoked Raspberry Vodka was introduced in the early summer of 2007, it was a 2nd place winner in last years contest. They are joined by my first attempt at a Carolina-Style Orange Chipotle, vinegar based sauce that was released in 2007 as well. All have been great retail sellers, and have had many customers inquiring for information on how they can get ahold of them. Well, we will be offering them for wholesale starting at the show. For those who can’t wait until the 29th, give us a call at 888-703-3473!
