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 Bootleg Chili In the News
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Bourbon helps Bootleg repeat chili cookoff win
The Reflector
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| Bootleg Chili, prepared by a couple from Hazel Dell and their friend from Oregon, took top honors in the Hometown Summer Best chili cookoff July 18, repeating their win in 1997. The chili prepared by Jerry and Era Fischer of Hazel Dell, and Dale Sugden from Lake Oswego, OR not only was the top choice of a panel of judges, but also won in public voting. Bootleg Chili not only won first place in the same competition in 1997, but also won top honors in the Vancouver chili cookoff June 27. The Bootleg Chili recipe contains bourbon. |
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Judges gave second place to Spirit of the West chili and third to Discount Sportswear. Public voting also put Spirit of the West in second place, with Fire District 11 third. Fire District 11's Queen's Chili won the showmanship award, with Bootleg Chili second and 9-1-1 chili third. The chili cookoff raised $336 for the North County Community Food Bank.
BOOTLEG CHILI was given top honors at Battle Ground's Hometown Summer Fest July 18 by both public vote and decision of the judges. |
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Family's business forecast
calls for chili profits
By KRISRlNE WH1TE for The Colombian
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Gerald Fischer has the hardware to prove his products are winners. Shiny trophies and an array of colorful ribbons decorate his Hazel Del1 home office. The accolades were earned by entering savory sauces or spicy chili in cookoffs, community fairs and festivals.
Fischer and his partners-wife Era May Fischer and friend Dale Sugden of Portland-have spent years trying to bring their award-winning recipe to market. But despite their product's apparent merit, they have encountered speed bumps, roadblocks and dead ends along the way.
Bootleg Sauces Inc. was born in 1991. "Originally, it started when my wife and I went to Wisconsin on vacation to a famous rib joint," Fischer said. He tasted the fare and decided he could do better.
Upon arriving home, Fischer concocted a sauce, entered it in the Clark County Fair and earned a coveted judge's choice award. He knew the success was no fluke when the sauce racked up more awards at other Pacific Northwest fairs. Fischer figured the public might like bottles of Bootleg Sauce in their pantries at home.
'We checked around to see if we could have it (mass) produced, and spent almost a year trying to put it in place," Fischer said.
He and Era May were just about to give up the notion when they connected with Fire Mountain, an Oregon company that was equipped to bottle their product in the quantity they desired.
'We got 200 cases of bottles at a good price" and set about filling them, Fischer said. At their marketing efforts peak, Bootleg Sauces were available in seven independent stores and three restaurants.
When stock from their first batch dwindled, it was time to bottle more. However, Fischer found the minimum bottle order had risen from 200 cases (2,400 bottles) to 400 cases. By the third time Bootleg needed more bottles, they learned the minimum order was 1,000 cases, a larger quantity and commitment than the mom-and-pop company was prepared to take on. "It was a long road of disappointments," Fischer said of the sauce venture.
Though they decided to shelve the sauces, the Fischers weren't done on the food product front. Fischer said he and Era May decided, "We're going to do the chili thing."
Chili forecast
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In the Fischers' case, "The chili thing" is Bootleg Chili, which they hope wil1 be coming soon to a store near you. The Fischers and their partner, Sugden, are veterans of the chili cook-off circuit. They've taken top honors at local competitions including Fort Vancouver Days and Battle Ground's Harvest Days, and in cookoffs in six other states across the West. Last June, Bootleg earned them the right to be one of 150 teams in the nation to compete in the Millennium World Cook-off in Texas next November.
With the sauce project on the back burner, the Fischers and Sugden figure their award-winning chili might be their claim to fame.
"It's super easy and tastes good," Fischer said of the chili that can be produced from a Bootleg Chili kit. The product is sold in small sacks similar to the ones used for bagging coffee beans by the pound in a grocery store. The chili kit contains a custom blend of seasonings and separate packets of salt, sugar and cayenne pepper, which can be added to taste. Consumers purchase other ingredients (meat, beans, rice, pasta, vegetables and so on) separately, and add them to the basic recipe as they see fit.
"Chili is a real personal thing," Fischer said of customizing the recipe.
He expects Bootleg Chili kits will retail at just under $3.
While he doesn't have to contend with the bottle dilemma, Fischer said getting Bootleg Chili off the ground has been a challenge, too. !
"It takes a tremendous amount of lead tune: getting a product ton market.... We searched for at least six months to find a printer who will do a minimum run of 10,000 (bags)."
Lessons learned
Fischer has hopes that Bootleg Chili will really take off, but he's also a realist. One thing that keeps him grounded is gazing "at 300 of these little bottles of hot sauce" stored in his office. "It's a tremendous collection," he said of the sauces from dozens of different producers. The bottles serve as a reminder, "You're not the only one out there doing this," he said.
Fischer's advice to other entrepreneurs: "Don't quit your day job." Fischer, 54, works as a lithographer for a Portland firm.
"I put in a full- eight-hour day; and come home and get beat to death on this," he said.
However, there isn't a hint of resignation in his voice. "The real sin is not trying," he said. |
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