If you've stopped by any street food market in Notts recently, you might have spotted the fancy food stall with 'Carolina's Chilli' scrawled proudly on the side. We chat to owners Angie and Mark about how they nail every Tex-Mex meal...
Firstly, how do you make Carolina’s Chilli taste so good?
Good quality ingredients and, most importantly, time! Slow cooking, seasoning and patience until it's right. All our sauces and marinades are our own recipes and, of course, just the right amount of spice.
Why did you decide to take the Tex-Mex approach to your food?
Finding the combination of gluten-free and vegan is very achievable with this style of food. The endless taco combinations has become an art project. Quesadillas - who doesn't love a melted cheese combo? The chilli loaded nachos are our signature and hot sauce is our passion. We just had to go Tex-Mex!
I love the design work of Carolina's Chilli. How did that come about?
The concept is to have a female-fronted brand in the spice world. The flowers are dahlias, which is the flower of Mexico. We wanted a stand that popped with colour. Carolina and Scarlett (who’s on our hot sauce) are the first two of many characters.
Likewise, how did you arrive on the name?
The name was quite simple: Carolina Reapers are one of the ingredients in the chilli. Tada!
We're still growing as a business. We have no plans for a physical store yet, but it would be incredible some day
You've spoken to us in the past about your Scarlett's Hot Sauce - do you have plans for any other sauces or products?
We have lots of plans for several other sauces and products. Our mango and habanero salsa is next; all we need is a name. Chutney, chilli hot chocolate mix and a number of sauces are on the way, too. They all need their own characters, so we're always on the lookout for inspiration.
People can currently find you at events and online, but are there any plans for a physical store?
We're still growing as a business. We have no plans for a physical store yet, but it would be incredible some day! Or we could possibly collaborate with another type of venue. For now, we'll follow the muse and see where it takes us. We never expected to be where we are now - we're enjoying it so much. The dream is forever evolving.
At the same time, do you enjoy the social side of those events? Will they always be a core focus of Carolina's?
We love that part of the job - we'd be in the wrong business if we didn't. Even on the occasional quiet days, we always meet some wonderful people, and opportunities and positive creative ideas always seem to find us when least expected. This is what drives us. High risk equals high reward. For the moment, the focus is to go out and serve the best food we can, wherever that may be.
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