2010 SCOVIE AWARDS RECOGNIZES PALM BEACH GARDENS COMPANY FOR PRODUCT EXCELLENCE
When the results of the 2010 Scovie Awards, the world’s leading recognition for hot and spicy products, were announced, Chef Wayne Howey of Tropical Island Gourmet was excited to get the call from the competition organizers. Palm Beach Gardens-based Tropical Island Gourmet Co., which distributes a wide assortment of bottled sauces and Spice Blends, has received a First Place 2010 Scovie Award. In the industry’s most rigorous blind tastings, a panel of the country’s top culinary experts sampled hundreds of the world’s most lauded gourmet foods, and the top scoring products each won a coveted Scovie banner.
First Place in the Medium Hot Sauce category was awarded to Tropical Island Gourmet’s top selling “Fire Ant Juice” which is manufactured locally by Sauce Crafters (www.saucecrafters.com) in Riviera Beach Fl. Over 600 products from around the world competed for top honors. The Scovie Awards were created by Dave DeWitt, the nation’s leading author on fiery cuisine and founder of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show. The awards are named for Wilbur Scoville who pioneered a rating scale for spicy foods. The Scovie Awards have become the industry standard for excellence in more than 60 categories of fiery foods.
“This year’s entrants really represented the cream of the crop in fiery foods products,” notes Dave DeWitt, dubbed by The New York Times as the “Pope of Peppers.” “Our 2010 winners represent some of the largest companies in the industry, such as Pace Foods, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Garden Fresh Salsa, as well as start-up companies just getting off the ground. The common factor is their commitment to excellence and the real quality of the products they produce.”
DeWitt was also pleased with the geographic diversity of the winners. “This year, our winners represent companies from 32 different states and countries and provinces as diverse as Panama, Australia, Japan, Antigua and Canada,” lauds DeWitt. “Scovie winners truly exemplify the diversity and quality of this industry.”
Many of the Scovie award winning products, as well as thousands of other products, will be available to both trade buyers and consumers at the 22nd Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, March 5-7, 2010 in Albuquerque, NM. For information on exhibiting in the National Fiery Foods Show, call 505-873-8680, or visit www.fiery-foods.com.
Contact information:
Wayne Howey
Tropical Island Gourmet
Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. 33410
561-385-0567
fireantjuice@aol.com
www.fireantjuice.com