D’Arcy McCrea’s energy is almost as intense as the hot sauces he’s hawking at Agribition.
It could be his sales background in the recording industry or that he just loves what he’s doing, but no one who has been standing on his feet all day at a trade show should be so enthusiastic.
Throughout Canadian Western Agribition, held Nov. 22-27 in Regina, people talked about McCrea’s sauces and were drawn to the booth where he concocts dishes they likely would never try to make at home.
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Several other booths, including those of the Saskatchewan egg, bison, turkey and chicken producers, have gotten into the act, using some of McCrea’s sauces with their products.
“We create a buzz,” said McCrea. “It’s honest. It’s sincere.
“There’s a lot of love in the room.”
McCrea’s business card calls him the “pepper prez” of Pepperheads Canada, the Turner Valley, Alta., company he founded in 2001 after 25 years at CBS Records.
Pepperheads includes six products – a couple of hot sauces, barbecue sauce, wing and seafood sauce, salsa and pizza sauce, and a rub.
The products come with recipe cards and tips. Some are unusual combinations. For example, yams and Piri-Piri Wing and Seafood Sauce turned a few heads.
McCrea mashed a wok full of baked yams (he prefers sweet potatoes but they are hard to find), added some butter and then encouraged a few brave tasters to “add Piri-Piri until it speaks to you.” Piri-Piri is the Portuguese name for a chile pepper.
Even those who swore they didn’t like yams and or didn’t like hot foods were amazed at the result.
McCrea uses prairie-grown ingredients where possible, including wild garlic.
Catching on
At the 2004 Fiery Food Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, he won three awards. Other honors include an Alberta e-business award in the agri-value category.
McCrea is slowly expanding, placing his products in high end independent and specialty stores. No Costco or Safeway for him.
“Your profile’s huge but you can die of exposure,” he said of his decision to maintain control of his business.
He admits he’s sunk a lot of money into Pepperheads but he’s reluctant to bring in outside cash.
He wants to keep the business fun and casual while making people more aware of their tastebuds. He doesn’t do formal presentations; his style is more like a kitchen party.
The company’s website is also fun. Look for it by going to www.producer.com and typing “pepperheads” in the go box.
