09/12/2025
I met Clark Stallings, owner of Gesus Palomino Candied JalapeƱos, about four years ago. We quickly bonded over our love of food and our passion for the small businesses we had just started. We became each otherās biggest champions. With his hilarious sense of humor and larger-than-life personality, Clark was a natural salesman who burned up the road. He got his delicious jalapeƱos into stores all over the Southeast, making friends and fans along the way. He never made a sales call without telling people about Porky Goodnessābecause thatās just the kind of guy he wasāand I was always so grateful.
To thank him, I created a salad dressing using his candied jalapeƱos and gave it to him. Iāll never forget how much he loved it and how excited he was for us to bottle it. Before I knew it, Clark had me in a tiny commercial kitchen in South Georgia, mixing buckets of candied jalapeƱos with my ingredientsāand Palomino Dressing was born.
Just a week ago today, I talked to him about another production run for the dressing. We caught up on each otherās lives, cracking each other up as usual. So when I got a call a few hours later that he was gone, it absolutely crushed me. Clark suffered a massive heart attack as he was heading home to Columbus on I-85 outside Atlanta. How could someone so full of life be gone in an instant?
I know I share my shock and devastation with so many of his friends, his beloved family, and really anyone who ever met Clark. He was a true characterāauthentic, hilarious, kind. He always had a story and a hug for you. But most importantly, he was a great dad who loved his girls more than anything.
We gathered earlier this week to share stories about Clark (and there were many) and to celebrate a life well-lived. I found myself eating cookies decorated like The General Leeānaturallyādrinking a cocktail, and looking around at the hundreds of people who loved him. I was overwhelmed with gratitude that our paths crossed over some jalapeƱos, of all things.
Hug your loved ones, tell folks what they mean to you, fire up the grill, and drink a Miller High Life for Clark. Iāll miss him dearly.