“Our sauces excite the palate; they don’t burn it,” says Paul DiBello, the one-and-only Captain Spongefoot. “We don’t play the hot, hotter, hottest game. We’re about flavor, flavor, flavor!”

Captain Spongefoot Fast Facts

“In Pepper We Trust”

Selling Since: 2005

Home Base: Granby, CO

Claim-to-Fame: Original Wing Sauce

Captain Spongefoot sauces come in three varieties: Award-winning Original Recipe Buffalo Wing Sauce featuring just the right amount of heat and an outstanding and complex flavor profile; the very versatile Chipotle Sauce with a perfect blend of chipotle peppers and chili de Arbol in a cayenne base; and the Asian spicy Z Sauce highlighting Sriracha peppers with a hint of Wasabi.

The Captain Spongefoot philosophy is “flavor first, then heat” so each sauce has a unique and highly robust flavor profile designed to complement rather than overwhelm food with just the right amount of heat. The sauces are produced from fresh, natural ingredients including carefully selected peppers and exotic spices and never include powdered pepper concentrates, artificial flavors, or colors.

Captain Spongefoot Trading Company walked away with three trophies from the 2004 National Buffalo Wing Festival, winning first prize for the Best Medium Traditional Wing Sauce in the “out of town category” for their  Original Sauce; their Chipotle Sauce placed second in the “Creative Spicy” division; and they received third prize for their Chipotle Sauce in the “Creative BBQ” division. These titles were earned by out-tasting the fierce competition of more than 100 entrants.

The Chronicles of Captain Spongefoot

After suffering from severe frostbite on an ice climbing expedition in 1974, Paul’s two feet and two fingers were amputated. Early prosthetic feet were made out of a spongy material that make a squishing sound when wet. So, when his feet were constantly water-soaked while working around boats at his sailing business on Lake Granby, Paul was given the nickname “Captain Spongefoot.”

Never one to let obstacles get in his way, Paul founded the National Sports Center for the Disabled Competition Program at the Winter Park Ski Resort. The program has provided training for hundreds of disabled skiers from around the world. Paul himself is a three-time world disabled ski champion and a world-renowned coach of champion disabled racers. In 1985, Paul DiBello was honored by Esquire magazine as one of the 120 “America’s New Leadership Class: Top People Under 40 Who Are Changing the Nation.”

Throughout his 20 years at Winter Park, Paul prided himself on making some of the finest wing sauces this side of the Mississippi. At his own football parties, family and friends would forever compliment him on his tasty treats. When he decided to retire from the Winter Park program in 2005, he began to pursue his passion for wings full-time. These days you can regularly find Paul cooking and bottling his sauce, eating his fair share of wings, and loving every minute of his new life. • Profile courtesy of Captain Spongefoot.

The gourmet hot sauce store experience is unfortunately, a reality your grandpa probably never had. But luckily for you, today people like Sam McCanless are cooking up hot sauces so powerful, they just might reclaim all those lost years with a single drop.

Zane & Zack’s Hot Pepper Sauce Fast Facts

“Suck our Scoville units!!!”

Owners: Sam & Tina McCanless

Founded: 2003

Home Base: Renton, Washington

Signature Products: Honey Chipotle Sauce, Hellfire Habenero Cream Cheese, & the Three Brothers & Four Brothers Hot Pepper Sauces

“The hot sauce industry has stepped into the gourmet, along with every other aspect of the food industry,” Sam said in a phone interview.

“This is not your grandpa’s hot sauce. We’re not selling flavored vinegar. These are pepper sauces that have big flavor, and they still pack the heat.”

Zane & Zack’s started with leftover honey from Sam’s beekeeping. They were headed to a barbecue, so he smoked some jalapeños, added some extra honey, and made a hot pepper sauce. Everyone at the party thought it was one of the best hot sauces they’d ever tried.

“Pretty soon people were telling me, ‘Hey, I’ll pay you to make me some of that,’ and so, a business was born,” Sam said.

Sam and Tina named the company after their first two boys, but the “Sons of Sam” now includes two additional members — Hans and Maxx.

It’s clear that half the fun for Sam and Tina is keeping their boys involved. One year, the whole family showed up at the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show with green mohawks (well, except for Tina).

The other half must be grabbing everyone’s attention at the food shows. Sam and Tina wear their matching flame ensembles or “Suck our Scoville Units!!!” shirts to every event. (By the way, Scoville units measure the amount capsaicin, or heat, in a chili pepper.)

“I never wear my exhibitor badge. I don’t have to,” Sam said.

Sam also mentioned how much they’ve enjoyed becoming friends with other spicy food producers along the way. He said they all work together like a family and promote each other’s products. When one company comes out with an award-winning product, it’s a victory for the gourmet hot sauce store community as a whole.

Zane & Zack’s has earned its share of accolades. They just won Best Overall at Zest Fest 2011 and have won multiple Golden Chile awards in the past. On March 4, they’ll be out again at the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show in Albuquerque.

What do you think? Should we call specialty hot sauces like Zane & Zack’s hot pepper sauce a “gourmet” food? Leave us a comment below!

What is Fooducopia?

Our mission is simple — we connect food entrepreneurs and local farmers to customers across the country. If you’d like to discover more artisan foods filled with the heart and soul of people like Sam McCanless, Fooducopia is a place we think you’ll love.