Hot Sauce Festival Winners 2019
The judges and people have spoken (and scorched their palates)
By James Renovitch, 6:15PM, Sun. Aug. 25, 2019
It was a typical Texas scorcher, but the crowds came out to pay homage to the gods of spice at the 29th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival. Live music was enjoyed, beers were consumed, and attendees ingested chips and sauce until their insides matched the heat outside. Thanks to everyone who helped us benefit the Central Texas Food Bank!
Restaurants, commercial bottlers, and individuals submitted their finest creations to be judged by more than 50 judges, and the official results are in.
Red
Individual
1st: Dan Montville
2nd: Anders Dowd
3rd: Josh & Jon Smetana
Restaurant
1st: Eric Wilkerson – TacoDeli
2nd: Joel Fried – El Dorado
3rd: Sarah Cook – Posse East
Commercial
1st: Aunt May's Bajan Red Pepper Sauce
2nd: Mikey V's Restaurant Red Salsa
3rd: Mom's Family Kitchen – Spicy Salsa
Green
Individual
1st: Bud Spaar
2nd: Peach Williamson
3rd: Leslie Oakeson
Restaurant
1st: Tanya Camacho – Serranos
2nd: Margarito Aranda – Sazón
3rd: Eric Wilkerson – TacoDeli
Commercial
1st: Restaurant Style Green – Mikey V's Foods
2nd: Cry'n Cowboy Hot Sauce – Hill Country Hot Peppers
3rd: Loco Avocado Training Wheels – Loco Avocado
Special Variety
Individual
1st: Tony Nunez
2nd: Sofia Sada
3rd: Matt Hudson
Restaurant
1st: Eric Wilkerson – TacoDeli
2nd: Joel Fried – El Dorado
3rd: Grant Irving – UT Golf Club
Commercial
1st: Picklesmash Hot – Mashup Foods LLC
2nd: Hot Lavacado – Loco Avocado
3rd: Ghost Scream Vindaloo Curry – Ghost Scream Hot Sauce
Pepper Sauce
Commercial
1st: Shonky Purple – Shonky Sauce Co.
2nd: Ghost Scream Chili Garlic Paste – Ghost Scream Hot Sauce
3rd: Alvin's Red Pepper Hot Sauce – Caribbean Treasure LLC
People's Choice
Red
1st: Mom's Family Kitchen – Spicy
2nd: Mikey V's Foods – Smoked Bacon
3rd: Bravado – Serrano & Basil
Green
1st: Shonky Sauce Co. – Black
2nd: Boerne Brand – Texas Style
3rd: Loco Avocado – Mouth Tinglin' Medium
Pepper
1st: Aztexan – Habanero Supreme
2nd: Perry's – Experiment #3
3rd: Teardrop – Golden Habanero
Special Variety
1st: Perry's – Habanero
2nd: Mashup Foods LLC – Picklesmash
3rd: Teardrop – Golden Habanero
Sign up for the Chronicle Cooking newsletter
If you want to submit a recipe, send it to food@austinchronicle.com
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for almost 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
Brandon Watson, Aug. 13, 2015
Sept. 4, 2020
Hot Sauce Festival, Hot Sauce Festival 2019
