Chiles, Spices, and Herbs...Oh My! Meet Your New Favorite Salsa Makers
Mi Madre’s Salsa Uses Local Ingredients to Take Their Salsas to the Next Level
“I love being in the kitchen, chopping and slicing working with different flavors and filling the kitchen up with the aromas and smells of different chilies, spices, and herbs,” said John Hawkins, owner of Mi Madre’s Salsa and a food entrepreneur who participated in Local First Arizona’s Community Kitchen program. “I take pride in using all fresh local produce, and I believe that it is important to support our local farmers.”
As a new entrepreneur who went through LFA’s Restaurant Start Up Bootcamp, John is energized by using Local First Arizona’s community kitchen and learning how to source locally grown ingredients, as well as being connected to local growers by using Good Food Finder’s directory. John is also grateful for the knowledge of Chef Gabe, who spearheads the Community Kitchen, and Tanya Chakravarty, who connects Arizona food producers to local farmers and makers.
“My mother and grandmother have been making salsa for decades,” John said. “As a third generation salsa maker, I’m not only able to learn what has been passed down from my family, but to experiment and make different types of salsa to share with the world. I’m most excited to support the local food community, such as being able to work alongside local farmers and to use the freshest ingredients grown in Arizona to make our salsas.”
You can follow the progress of Mi Madre’s Salsa as they begin their descent into the AZ local food community by following them on Facebook and Instagram.
Upgrade Salsa Launches into the Marketplace
What began as a fundraiser for their daughter’s softball team led to selling hundreds of containers of their homemade salsa and catapulted the idea for Andy and Megan Lornez, the husband and wife duo, to transform their side project into a business. Andy and Megan were also part of Local First Arizona’s Restaurant Start Up Bootcamp, a six-week restaurant training program that helps food entrepreneurs jump-start their careers and grow their business without the cost and liability in equipping, managing, and maintaining their own commercial facility. The signature program provides food safety classes in addition to education on business planning, purchasing, and how to manage the day to day operations.
With this training, Andy and Megan took their business called Upgrade Salsa out of the kitchen and into the marketplace by spreading the word on social media and selling their salsa’s online. “We have a website that customers can order on, as well as a very active Facebook page,” said the two.
Their motivation to join LFA’s Community Kitchen was a desire to learn about how to get their business up and running in order to sell their products at farmers markets and stores. The hard work has paid off. They’ve recently started selling their salsas at the Mesa Farmers market.
Interested in sampling Upgrade Salsa’s outrageously delicious offerings, such as Ghost Salsa, AvoGreen, Pineapple Salsa, and more? Follow them on their Facebook page or order their salsa on their website.