Long before there were memes about love languages, there was a family in Prince Edward Island that turned morsels into meals, and food into love. Spoiler Alert: that family is mine. And though I don’t believe that anyone walked to school uphill both ways, my mother did come from a family of 13 children and learned to cook amazing meals from whatever was available. Fast-forward a generation, and I find myself doing the same—delighting in the process of making delicious food, and the joy that comes from sharing it.

Not a condiment person? Believe it or not, neither was I. In fact, if you ask my wife, she’ll tell you that up until several years ago, she rarely saw me put sauce or condiments (except my mom's gravy) on anything!

I find that so many supermarket condiments lack depth and complexity, use a lot of processed ingredients or additives, and ultimately detract from the lovingly-prepared food on the plate. Often, they are single-note, and burn-your-face-off spicy. While this is certainly trendy - and can be fun - “delicious” is not a word that comes to mind. My point of view is that if it doesn’t complement, contrast, or elevate the dish I’m tucking into, I’ll generally just leave it off.

It’s the flavour that always has to come first, so that’s why I decided to try making my own condiments from scratch in small batches, and to develop each recipe as a great-tasting sauce with a distinct flavour profile. Only then will I select the best peppers to spice it up.

The result? Sauces that perform like… secret ingredients. I can’t wait for you to try them.