Some Like It Hot
When Sonoma County resident Frank Yates decided to leave his successful career as a financial planner and real estate professional to focus on making hot sauce, his friends and family thought he was crazy. Turns out, not so much. Today, Yates is having huge success as the “international ambassador of all things hot and spicy,” and his Chiligods sauces, available in select markets across Northern California, are blazing a trail with flavor profiles that range from savory or sweet to tangy, depending on which you choose. And don’t let the name scare you: Chiligods sauces are food-friendly, with varying heat levels, as opposed to overwhelmingly spicy.
The original Red Pepper Sauce provides a bold burst of heat along with a seasoned complexity that makes it useful as an ingredient as well as a food topper. The Honey Chili Sauce is bright and sweet up-front with a building heat that makes it a perfect choice for Asian-inspired dishes (or chicken wings). The Lava Love Steak Sauce is deep and smoky, with an unexpected hint of sweetness. All are delicious, but the standout (for us) was the Green Pepper Sauce, which is a fresh and tangy verde concoction that, according to one of our tasters, would be “great on anything.” Made only with natural ingredients, most are vegan and/or gluten free.
Mama Mia!
In November 2009, Tina Eliason cooked up some of her Spallino (her maiden name) family sausage and spinach ravioli for guests at the Rio Nido Roadhouse, where she was working as a bartender (after leaving along career in banking and finance). “They were a huge hit,” she remembers. “I received several orders for the [upcoming] holidays, and customers began encouraging me to start my own business.” Though she was reluctant at first, Mama Tina’s Ravioli is now available at grocery stores and farmers markets across Sonoma County, and the company is set to grow quickly.For the first 3.5 years, she made every ravioli by hand—50 packages per day—in a shared commercial kitchen. In 2013, she purchased “Bella,” an Italian-made pasta machine that bumped production to 350 packages per day. A move into her own space in Windsor last December will now make it possible to expand into new territories (first up: Marin and Napa counties).
Popular ravioli varieties include the original sausage and spinach (Double Gold medal winner at the Harvest Fair), butternut squash (Gold), Philly cheese steak (Gold), mushroom cheese, seven cheese, spinach cheese, artichoke, meatball, crab (or lobster) and cheese, and turkey and stuffing (a holiday special). In addition to ravioli, Eliason has expanded her line to include meatballs, Sunday Sugo (a long-simmered red sauce) and fresh pastas (spaghetti, fettucini, lasagna and pasta sheets).
The NorthBay biz office was treated to an impromptu tasting that left everyone smiling—and hungry for more. Like any great Italian food, you can taste the love.
Music for Your Mouth
We all have a song (or songs) that, when heard, can transport us back to a specific moment—and most of those memories are happy ones. What if you could celebrate those memories with a sweet treat? Imagine Chocolates has come up with a way to do just that.
Company founder Mitch Koulouris explains, “I tried to combine my imagination, creativity and music knowledge with truffle making to create relevant flavors, based on what I thought a particular song would taste like.” So, for example, a “Purple Haze” truffle is dark chocolate with a lavender cashew center; “Comfortably Numb” is dark chocolate with a peanut butter and jelly center; and “Paparazzi” is milk chocolate with a carbonated popping candy center.Each Imagine Chocolate box contains four truffles inspired by a different musical theme, including Girl Power, Punk Passion, One Hit Wonders and The White Album (all white chocolates, of course), accompanied by liner notes “to try and spark a new conversation or a musical memory.” Rock on!
