Growing up in a Guyanese household, hot sauce was a staple on our table, thanks to my mother's love for Caribbean cuisine. Matouk's Hot Pepper Sauce was a household favorite, but it was my mom's homemade versions that truly sparked my interest in hot sauce.

My first memories with hot sauces really came from eating amazing food growing up in the cultural melting pot of Southern California. Whether it was finding a homemade sambal or sriracha from the Mongolian BBQ or Ramen Joint, to eating a hoard of $.59 street tacos from the taqueria with their buffet of fresh salsas, peppers and heat grabbed me at a young age. I would say a ton of my influences come from emulating that fresh homemade feel into sauces that aren’t just for one particular dish, but can be used with any recipe, any time.

Brian from Craft Hot Sauce and Craic Sauce is interviewed on the 495 podcast. Brian shares how to started growing peppers, making his first batch and going on to start an educational hot sauce website and hot sauce company.

Growing up in South Africa with a British father and Madeiran mom with such a massive extended Portuguese family exposed me to a vast richness in cultural diversity. In people, personalities, language, music and flavour.

I had a beer one day on the beach with an American buddy and we got to talking about why Thailand doesn’t have a signature hot sauce as spicy food goes hand in hand with the country. He is long-time friends with Trinidad Charlie and familiar with the challenges and successes he has had with his hot sauces.

During the summer of 2014, my Dad grew some golden ghost peppers in our garden. These were some really tasty, fruity and hot peppers. When I first tasted them the heat built up gradually for a minute and the sweet flavor evolved with the heat.

I have a love and passion for all things culinary, food is my lover and my friend. That being said, I cook quite a bit. At least twice a day, everyday. When I moved to Decatur, Georgia from Monterey, California that passion was put into overdrive.

Howler Monkey Sauce is a hot sauce company out of Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Like many hot sauce makers, they got their inspiration from a hot sauce they loved and tried to imitate its qualities and bring their own spice to it.