I came to Nashville 27 years ago.  I wasn’t planning to stay; I was on my way to Florida to seek my fortune as a young sous chef and my transmission decided to strand me here for a few days.  I never left.

  In that time, I have seen the radical transformation that this town has undergone, and I saw it from the trenches.  I saw the city become an exciting mecca for cooks and chefs from all over the country, as the Opryland Hotel drew them in to participate in the legendary training program that they had built there. I saw the first slow, then blinding-fast rejuvenation of our long-neglected downtown. The rebirth of East Nashville.  All the while, I was cheffing in kitchens all over town, as the opportunities for work got better and better over the years.  Hotels.  The old convention center.  The Arena.  numerous restaurants.  And now, the real renaissance is in the neighborhoods, spreading out the city’s offerings to cooks seeking work and hungry customers alike.

  Probably the most encouraging change in Nashville has to be new emphasis on local, independent restauranteurs and producers of local products.  Almost everywhere you go in Davidson and surrounding counties there is something unique to us–farmer’s markets on every corner, boutique pho stands, bakeries, wedding chapels, and yes, great restaurants of every variety.  No longer are we stuck in the chain-store grind.  Variety, it seems, is a life spice that our city has come to love.

  Anejo is proud, and a little humbled, to be part of this wonderful revival, and we love our partners in it.  Thanks, SkyBlue Restaurant (our first customer, almost a year ago now), Blue Diamond Catering, Clean Plate Club, and our newest customers, Hook restaurant.  There are many others, of course, that use our product, and our reach is beginning to expand.  It’s been a great few months getting this company up and running, and getting out there in the community to meet others who work the stoves and shine the flatware all over town.

  This is a thanks to all Anejo’s customers, and a tip of the hat to all the artisans and cheese makers and cake bakers and brewmasters, and, well you know who you are.  Let’s keep making Nashville a place of flavor, style, and spirit.

Chef Gary

Doing Things Right…

Hi all, 

I’m so glad to be making my first entry on the blog for Anejo Foods, LLC!

Over the next few months, I’d like to use this space and this opportunity to tell my customers and fans a little more about the product that is Anejo pepper sauce– and maybe more importantly, a bit about the idea behind it.  When I first began tinkering with the idea of a pepper sauce of my own about six years ago, I thought about what I liked about the sauces already out there.  There are literally thousands, as I’m sure you’ve noticed at farmer’s markets and supermarkets everywhere.  Some have been around forever, and we’ve grown up with them.  Others are brand-new entries, trying in vain to come up with the jokiest or folksiest way to get their message across on increasingly bizarre labels, hoping to catch your eye as you pilot a cart through the store.  I wanted Anejo to be something that you’d be as comfortable with as that first category, while avoiding the pitfalls of the second.

The best part of the old, established brands is the craftsmanship of many of them.  My hat goes off to the grand-daddy of them all, Tabasco Sauce.  There simply is no substitute for the crisp, clear taste of it.  I wanted Anejo to aspire to that level of consistency and uniqueness of flavor, every bottle, every drop.  At the same time, I wanted a sauce that would both enhance and compliment the foods you enjoy it with.  That means that it had to be more than just heat.  It meant that I had to make lots of batches, and give gallons of it away to my chef friends, to neighbors, and try it out on the kind of foodies that would give me the real, honest feedback I needed.  I finally got to the point where Anejo is today– good spice, great flavor, and the kind of condiment that makes what your’e eating better.  Every time, every bottle, every dish.

Next time, log in to see some photos of the process that makes Anejo what it is, and read more about what it takes to make an artisan-style product and get it to the restaurants and places that you enjoy it.

Until then, have a spicy day, 

Chef Gary