“We are working with the State of Florida at the moment with the ‘Fresh fromFlorida’ program, which is through the Florida Department of Agriculture,” Angela explained. “They are helping to train and give grants to small farmers and people who want to learn how to farm and grow things like datil peppers, for example. Knowing they have someone who has already said ‘You grow them, I'm going to buy them from you so I can use them in my product’ is important. We're actually helping local economies and the county that the agricultural department is focusing its efforts on is one of the poorest counties in the State of Florida. It’s a win-win situation for them and for us.”
can't find that today, what else is out there, what else is available that I can use as my focal point?’ When I find something that looks good, that looks fresh, I’m immediately thinking about what I can throw it together with.” “I am constantly learning and growing — it’s who I’ve always been – and I am appreciative of all the help I have received from my family.” Angela’s blog, which can be found at www. datilpepperlady.com is ripe with recipes from appetizers to salads to chicken and poultry – and desserts. But her April 30 post titled ‘Cinco de Mayo Datil Jerk Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa’ is the perfect exemplar of the Old St. Augustine Gourmet spirit: the care is in the detail. Not only is her writing style welcoming – like a good nurse’s bedside manner and a true Southerner – but the blog itself humbly contextualizes the American celebration of Independence Day in Mexico adding a welcomed level of Romance to the preparation of a contemporary taco bar. If you’re visiting the Datil Pepper Lady’s blog and your mouth starts to water, go to www.osagourmet. com to order your Old St. Augustine Gourmet products today. “If it’s local and fresh then it’s going to be a real boon to your diet in terms of your health — and it’s going to taste better.” •
“I love spicy food and I love to experiment with flavor combinations and food – that’s how this business got started. Every Old St. Augustine Gourmet product started as an at-home kitchen creation. We used to travel from Tennessee to Florida every year on vacation – we lived in the Nashville area – and we became enamored with datil pepper products. (The datil pepper actually thrives naturally in St. Augustine like nowhere else in the world.) So I started taking peppers home and experimenting. The first product I created was actually a spicy salsa with datil peppers – I even bottled it myself. Before long my kids were hauling it out the back door and giving it away to their friends and taking it back to college and that kind of thing. One of them finally looked at me and said, ‘Mom, why aren't you selling this stuff? You could make money.’ Up until then, it had never even occurred to me that this could be a business. I was so focused on being a nurse and being an administrative nurse I just didn't even think about it; it was just something I did for fun. So Old St. Augustine Gourmet actually started in our home kitchen and it just grew from there. The next thing we knew we were in business, literally.” “I love spicy food and I love to experiment with flavor combinations and food – that’s how this business got started.” For Angela, a self-professed lifelong learner, there is nothingmore important than the “we” side of theOld St. Augustine Gourmet equation. “I am constantly learning and growing – it’s who I’ve always been – and I am appreciative of all the help I have received from my family,” she said. “On the entrepreneurship side of things I first looked to my husband – and I still rely on him a lot. He has over 40 years’ experience in wholesale and retail as a manufacturer. And two of my sons and one of my nephews are also in this with me. They’ve used their education in graphic design, business, and entrepreneurship to help market our brand – so I've got a lot of support and I’m learning something new every day.”
It’s also a win-win for Old St. Augustine Gourmet customers. Working closely with small operation local farmers fits Angela’s business model: small batches equals unrivaled quality control which means award-winning flavour. The Old St. Augustine Gourmet small farm-to-bottle business model wasn’t exactly a paradigm shift for Angela. “That's how I plan my meals; that's how I base my recipes: I go to the markets and I look for what's fresh,” she said. “If it’s local and fresh then it’s going to be a real boon to your diet in terms of your health – and it’s going to taste better. And eating this way for most of my life has been a never-ending education for me, as well. I’m always learning about new flavor combinations because if I go to the local market and don't see what I want I keep going; I just ditch whatever it was I had in mind to cook and say, ‘Okay, I
Also, in Angela’s corner is the Women's Business Enterprise Council of Florida, a community of mentors, advisers, strategic alliances, champions, and supporters of women in business. Old St. Augustine Gourmet is WBENC-certified. “It really allows me to join forces with other women and business owners and leaders all over the United States,” she explained. “It has really helped to expand our visibility and has opened doors to some corporate suppliers that I probably would not have had access to before. It really is an amazing group of women. I’m currently working with them on a few different opportunities like potentially exporting my first products, which will probably be to Canada. The mentorship there is so great and I can’t wait to turn that around and help mentor someone else.” One of the government entities in the Sunshine State that works closely with many WBNEC-certified businesses is the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Old St. Augustine Gourmet Foods
WORLD HOT SAUCE AWARDS
Most Awarded Datil Pepper Products in the Nation
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2019
71 OCTOBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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