Hot pepper passion becomes a business
East Stroudsburg, PA — Lars Chigi likes it hot, hot, hot.
The freezer of his home kitchen in Blue Mountain Lakes is packed with such fiery chili varieties as bhut jolokia, naga morich, fatalii, Cayenne Super II Hybrid and rocoto.
“I eat chili peppers in some form every day in at least two of my meals,” Chigi said. “It’s like a drug addiction. Once you get a hankering for flavor and heat, you want more. It’s a healthy addiction.”
Chigi has turned his passionate quest for the ultimate burn into a gourmet food business. Csigi Gourmet which uses the Hungarian spelling of his surname has been in business since 2005. His products, which include three varieties of hot sauces, pasta sauce, salsa, barbecue sauce and a balsamic vinaigrette, have won several awards.
And it all started when he was a youngster growing up in Hunterdon County, N.J., where he marveled at how his grandmother made the best pasta sauce. “Every time she made it, it tasted the same though she never measured it,” said Chigi, who watched her grind fresh tomatoes and add spices in a specific order as well as meat for flavor. “I try to emulate what she did in her kitchen in my own way.”
When his parents divorced when he was 13, Chigi often had to prepare meals while his mom was at work.
