Habanero Montreal – Nov ’15
by
Martin Lamoureux
Northern Fire
Hello hot pepper lovers,
This month I will tell you about a company that, in my opinion, is the pioneer of sauces in Quebec. I refer of course to Peppermaster which was created in 2004. Greg and Tina Brooks, the owners, started doing business in 1982 for sauce craft fairs in Nova Scotia and elsewhere in Canada. In 1995, they began selling their sauces to a shop called “Le Panier” in Pointe Claire near Montreal. Today, they have a wonderful store located in the small town of Rigaud in western Quebec. With over 150 products bearing the logo Peppermaster, in addition to producing for 17 companies, a detour is needed to see all their selections. I’ll come back to their in a moment. Greg, who was born in Pointe-Claire went to study in the Bahamas where he started selling sauces to tourists in 1962. Throughout his path, creating magical flavors became his life’s work. The Brooks family is always ready to help chilehead community here in Quebec.
Their store is truly unique and amazing. It is built in a former bakery converted to accommodate them. Nothing too big, but very friendly and they are always willing to talk to us. You can try several products, and through casual conversation with them, they can find you the product that suits you the best. All their products are made with fresh, natural foods and it shows in the flavor. They are also a very large fair product user. If they need dried or roasted peppers, they will make everything themselves. One of my favorite products is their mash of Red Savina. A fresh and smooth purée with a good sweet and tangy flavor. The color is bright red as I had never seen before and it comes through in the freshness of their products.
I invite you to consult their website, Peppermaster.com, where you can order all of their products which are all delicious. Their three best sellers are the Hurricane Mash, Jerk Curry and the Sting of Scorpions. Greg’s favorite and the one he uses on all of his meals is the Hurricane.
I know there are other pioneers, but I do not know all their stories yet. In my opinion, Peppermaster remains a must try for all chileheads in Quebec. We are a small market in Quebec and several other producers are being born. I think of companies like Damn, FireBarn, DR.Piments, Bookman, les Grenouilles Charmantes and so on. Hot sauce stores open across Quebec, soon it will be easy to find good sauces everywhere.
I hope you like it and I wish you a hot day.
Martin Lamoureux
