Woo hoo!  I just got word that Ronnie & Denzel's Natural Champions Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce has one Gold in the BBQ Sauce/Glaze/Marinade category of the 2009 Napa Valley Mustard Festival's World-Wide Mustard Competition! That mean's we're in the running for the Grand Champion Award, which will be announced at the awards gala at Black Stallion Winery in Napa on March 13th. This year's competition garnered more than 300 entries from seven countries in 19 categories.

The win follows on the heels of our two first place victories in the 2009 Scovie Awards. Our Island Heat BBQ Sauce came first in the World Beat category and our Southwestern Red BBQ Sauce won best Chipotle-based sauce.

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. 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, with over 600 products from around the world competing for top honors in 60 categories.

Congrats to my Natural Champions partner Denzel Sandberg, who has been winning international awards for his line of delicious Denzel's Hot Sauces for years. Denzel cooks up our Ronnie and Denzel's BBQ sauces in his commercial kitchen in Enderby, B.C.

Ask your favorite gourmet food retailer to get in touch with Denzel and bring in our sauces in time for barbecue season!

Hey barbecue fans! Just a quick note to invite you to come see my grilling demos at the BC Home and Garden show this weekend, where I'll be on the Terasen Gas stage.

On Saturday at 5.00 p.m. my theme will be grilled desserts:

And on Sunday at 2.30 p.m. I'll be focusing on some great starters and sides:
Hope to see you there!