Don’t just label Amber Button a Chilehead, because she is so much more. She’s fanatical about her chile flavors. She’s the founding member of Chicks & Salsa, a unique group of food critics and event journalists. It is turning out that her Chilehead identity is that of one destined to create great products. While the passion has always been there for Amber, it seems the advent of the Carolina Reape
r sparked what can only be called an obsession with chiles. As soon as the Carolina Reaper plants hit the market, Amber had “seeds in the soil” and found she had a real green thumb when it came to growing chiles – evidenced by her very first plants winning a second place at John Ford’s Fiery Foods “biggest pepper plants in the world” contest. By spring of 2013 she was producing some of the first home-grown Carolina Reapers for her own enjoyment and sauce making creations. She became aware of her obsession as she had gone from spending 20 minutes a day on chile-related activities, to spending as much as 5 hours a day tending to plants, drying and freezing chiles, making sauces, salsas, and even baked goods. It wasn’t long before her enthusiasm spread to others. She formed a hot & spicy product reviewing group, Chicks & Salsa. In just a short time they have posted over 50 videos on YouTube reviewing various hot/spicy products. The Chicks & Salsa journalistic team is also taking to the show circuit to rub elbows with other chile enthusiasts, and share their unique hot & spicy perspective.
“I’ve always loved hot sauces, chile flavors, and all the things associated with the world of peppers and spicy foods,” states Amber. “I enjoy the super-hot Bhut Jolokia, Trinidad Scorpion and Carolina Reaper sauces, but what intrigues me as a sauce-maker is bringing out the flavors in unique ways and taming the heat.”
It was early in 2014 at CaJohn Hard’s Fiery Foods Weekend in Columbus, Ohio that something very interesting came to pass. CaJohn, impressed by Amber’s knowledge and insight of the chile-world, and her passion for recipes, reached out to Amber to join forces in bringing some of her creations to market. Her fire for the chile game fueled a meeting of the minds, a collaboration of sauce making ideas. CaJohn, America’s most awarded hot & spicy food manufacturer is known to the industry as the “Godfather of Hot Sauce”, made Amber an offer she couldn’t refuse. Work with CaJohn to develop a line of products unlike any under the CaJohns masthead, using classic recipes with a new twist, or just bring back that traditional flair of the Fifties and Sixties Foodie Scene. AmberFyre Foods is the result of all that has come to fruition since that initial meeting. These products are fired by the inspiration of Amber Button, and delivered by the award winning kitchen of CaJohns Fiery Foods. These products are top shelf, crafted with the finest ingredients and all the passion of the Master Saucier and his fiery apprentice.
