Spicy sauce brings the heat

WE’VE all needed a bit of warming up this winter, and if jackets and blankets haven’t done the trick Benjamin Ato Sam is certain that his new sauce can.

The author of two cookbooks recently created his Black Hot Sauce, a variation of traditional shito sauce, bringing a taste of his Ghana hometown to Bendigo.

Made from Scotch bonnet chilli peppers, onion and garlic, Ato Sam said the sauce has proven popular and he’s sold out of multiple batches.

“This winter has been very cold, so I said this is a good time to bring this sauce out,” he said. “I believe the sauce brings a bit of aroma and warmth as well, a bit of taste and heat into your food.”

Out of his most recent batch of 35 jars, he has just four left, and has sold as many as 20 in one day.

He said the process was a bit of trial and error, however even the first iterations of the sauce were popular among Mr Ato Sam’s close circle.

“My friends and family would get together and I’d cook a meal, they didn’t even know it was a condiment I’d be serving I just wanted them to try it, and they loved it,” he said.

“I told myself I want to wait until I’m 100 per cent certain, but almost every person who’s tried it thinks it’s a great sauce.”

He has since sold the sauce at a two-day African festival at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, regularly sells in cafes across Bendigo and he’s even had people text from Adelaide and Perth who’ve heard about it and wanted to give it a go.

He said the sauce goes best with hash browns, hot chips, stir fry, steamed rice, or any barbecue meat.

To buy a jar of Black Hot Sauce, contact Mr Ato Sam on 0468 537 169. You can also hear him every Saturday on Phoenix 106.7FM playing reggae music from 12pm to 2pm.