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.

I (Deja) came to love hot sauce while growing up in Southern California, eating house made hot sauce from a little hole in the wall Mexican food restaurant in high school.  It was only a drive- thru but it had the best burritos and the hot sauce that I have ever had. This was the inspiration for our Morita sauce. My true love of cooking with chilies began when I became the executive chef at a boutique Thai and Indonesian fusion restaurant in Manhattan Beach California where I worked with two wonderful Thai ladies

My influences come from growing up in Southern California being surrounded by so much great Mexican food, I developed a love and appreciation for Mexican cuisine. One of my first memories with hot sauce was noticing all the different hot sauces there are to try.

Mago Hot Sauce began as an underground hot sauce movement in Southern California and continues to emphasize craft and high quality. MAGO creates small-batch sauces with the perfect balance of heat and flavor so you can make every meal better.

It all started in 2009 when I was trying to make the perfect hot wings with something other than Frank’s Red Hot. After countless trips to my local hot sauce store, my obsession with wings changed to hot sauce.