Meet the Maker: Hot Sauce Nashville

The South has its fair share of spicy dishes. Many of these are influenced by the African and Caribbean flavors and spices that made their way to the area generations ago.

The dish that Nashville is now known for – Nashville Hot Chicken – dates back to African American communities in the 1930s. In the 70s it got an update to the current version that swept the nation a few years ago.

What would a taste of Nashville be without something a little spicy? So I decided to find out more from the people that help make it a little more spicy – Chris and Chelsea at Hot Sauce Nashville. 

Thanks to the Nashville Hot Chicken trend that swept the nation a few years ago the city is often associated with the dish. But your hot sauce goes beyond the somewhat bland, but super spicy options most people grab at the grocery store. How do you come up with your flavors? 

It all started with our Hot Garlic hot sauce. We (Chris and Chelsea – a husband and wife hot sauce duo) are huge garlic fans. We use it in almost everything we cook and we wanted to create a hot sauce that gave us a delicious garlic taste with a nice, tingling heat. So we set out with a mission to make a hot sauce we love that lets the peppers and garlic really shine. It took us a long time (and a lot of not so great hot sauces) to get to one we absolutely loved. 

Our Hot Green flavor was inspired more from places we have traveled. We lived in Colorado for a bit where we ate a lot of delicious sauces using green peppers. We wanted to create our version that was zesty, tangy, and really approachable even for people who might have not ever liked hot sauce before. Our newest flavor, Hot Ginger, is a nod to our love of Asian food and wanting to create a unique, spicy, yet intensely flavorful hot sauce with a focus on ginger (which we love)! 

Where did your love of hot sauce come from? And your desire to turn it into a business?

We took a trip to India a few years back where we fell in love with heat and spicy foods. From there, we started using hot sauce a lot more and we always love trying out new flavors and learning how certain spices and foods pair. After getting Hot Garlic how we liked it and trying it out with family and friends, we realized other people loved it too, so that began our journey into the world of hot sauce! We have always loved local food makers and the farmers market community. We have visited over 100 farmers markets across the country (and world), and we always dreamed of being a part of that community. We are now at 5 farmers markets a week in the Nashville area and love getting to meet our customers and work with each other every day!

I first fell in love with you guys (can I say that?) reading about your love for farmer’s markets and how you road tripped over 12,000 miles to visit them across the country. I assume with this passion for small local producers you have made some great connections in your hometown of Nashville. Any favorites you would like to share? 

Nashville has some absolutely incredible local food makers and we are so lucky to work alongside a lot of them! It would be hard to choose favorites, but one of our recent addictions is Radical Rabbit, who makes absolutely delicious vegan soul food! 

Besides hot chicken what are your favorite ways to use hot sauce?

We’ve become those people who put it on everything! But, we really love Hot Garlic on fajitas, avocado toast (the spice pairs so well with the smoothness of avocado), and Chris’ favorite of all is on eggs! 

We also get some awesome suggestions from our customers at the farmers markets that help us find new delicious ways to use it. One customer told us they loved Hot Garlic on pizza, and honestly, we will never go back! 

Favorite spots in Nashville for a bite to eat or a good drink? 

Nashville is bursting with great places to eat and drink! 

For hot chicken, we absolutely love Slow Burn – a family operated restaurant with locations in East Nashville and Madison. Their hot chicken is amazing and their fried okra is our favorite in the city!

A restaurant we have been loving lately is Maru in East Nashville. Their sushi is our favorite! It is super high quality and the owners are really creative with their sushi rolls. Sometimes they will even make some off-menu rolls for you that are always phenomenal!

Pinewood Social is another one of our favorite places. They have delicious food, great drinks, and an awesome atmosphere. There are lawn games outside and retro bowling lanes inside if you want to have some fun after you eat!

Looking for some delicious ideas for your hot sauce?

Add it to your favorite chili recipe, top your breakfast tacos, or even create a spicy cocktail.

Hot Garlic Buffalo Sauce

25 Tasty Ideas for Hot Sauce

Nashville Hot Chicken