About
OUR BEGINNINGS
Humboldt Hotsauce is celebrating 13 years! In honor of our lucky 13th year, we have created our hottest sauce to date, “Cannibal Island”. This sauce has been slaying this year at festivals and has been so popular, we will be adding it to our regular line-up!
A little about the makers, Humboldt Hotsauce is Owned and operated by husband and wife team Cal and Heidi Ferris. Their Hotsauce has become a staple for local Humboldt foodies and hot sauce fanatics across the U.S.! Cal creates his sauces with fresh ingredients, layers of flavor, and a slow burn! Add it during the cooking process or splash it on each bite!
Cal has been working as a Chef for over 25 years both in California and Portland, OR. Cal has traveled all over the world and has a special love of tropical and Island style flavors. It is this love of the Islands that inspired Cal’s use of ingredients, such as mango, pineapple, banana, and fresh ginger. His preferred pepper to play with is the orange habanero, which features a bright medium heat, ranging from 100,000 – 350,000 on the Scoville heat scale, and provides a sweet, fruity, tropical heat which pairs perfectly with his favorite ingredients!
Heidi has worked in the Food and Beverage industry for over 25 years. The last 12 years, she has worked as a sales and event planner both in Portland and in Northern California. She has a passion for food and photography. If you follow any of their social media sites, you will be sure to see Heidi’s photos featuring Cal’s dinner creations, hot sauce festivals, and other adventures!
THE DREAM
The idea of a tropical hot sauce came about in Cal and Heidi’s restaurant "Cool Runnings Cafe" (located in Portland, OR) in 2002. What started as a table side condiment, soon became one of the most popular items in the Cafe! After a few years of scheming and hot sauce dreaming, Cal and Heidi moved to Humboldt, and in 2009 the first batch of Habanero-Mango hot sauce was bottled! The hot sauce was quickly added to the local Humboldt County Co-ops, Natural Food Stores and small Gourmet Shops. The second sauce, called "Island Style", was released in 2011 followed by the "Emerald" hot sauce in 2012.
It was then that the company really began to expand.
Currently, the original three hot sauces are being featured in markets all over the West Coast, including 90+ Kroger Fred Meyer markets in Oregon, Washington State, Idaho and Alaska. We were also proudly added to 94 Ralph’s Market Kroger locations in Southern California!
OUR PRODUCTS
Humboldt Hotsauce “Island Style” and “Trinidad Stinger” have both been featured in FUEGO BOX and both received rave reviews by the recipients! Humboldt Hotsauce has also been seen in several blogs and food publications and was featured on Los Angeles morning news channel 7, when doing a piece on the "California Hot Sauce Expo", held in Anaheim, California, alongside Puckerbutt with owner Ed Currie, who is the creator of the Carolina Reaper Pepper and the Pepper X, and Steve Seabury, the promoter and creator of several Hot Sauce Expos all throughout the United States, and owner of High River Sauces.
Humboldt Hotsauce has also won several awards, including TWO, 2019 Scovie Awards for the “Island Style” and our the “Trinidad Stinger” – both of which received 2nd Place and Tied each other in the Fruit Hot Sauce Category.
Cal and Heidi want to say Thank You to all of our loyal Humboldt Hotsauce fans for keepin it spicy with us since 2009!