The founder of a Santa Rosa-based line of fermented hot sauces and condiments called Hot Drops will be featured on the new season of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s reality series “Food Stars,” which debuts Wednesday night on Fox.
Sonoma County native Andrew Whiting spent six weeks in London in February and March filming with the opinionated, hot-tempered and frequently foulmouthed TV chef and said it was an experience he’ll never forget.
“He’s a formidable human being. He’s a big guy, about 6 foot 2, and has a big presence. He’s absolutely Gordon ‘F—–g’ Ramsay,” said Whiting, whose added emphasis indicates he may have spent enough time around the chef for at least one of his attributes to rub off on him.
Behind the scenes of ‘Food Stars’
Whiting can’t say much yet about his fortunes on the 10-week reality series, in which he competed against 25 other food and beverage entrepreneurs for the series’ second season, other than that it was “one of the better experiences of his life” so far.
In the first episode, the contestants pitch themselves and their product for a spot on either Team Ramsay or Team Vanderpump, headed by TV personality and hospitality industry veteran Lisa Vanderpump, who each mentor seven competitors throughout the season with the winner taking home a $250,000 prize.
“It was sort of like business boot camp meets summer camp in London, but for entrepreneurs,” said Whiting. “You don’t usually get that camaraderie in the entrepreneurial journey. You do a lot by yourself, so it was validating to be around a group of people doing the same kind of pursuit.”
Whiting said they filmed mostly on weekdays so he had weekends off to enjoy the sights of London. His sister lives there, but the rules of the show prevented him from having any contact with her during filming.
Hot sauce is having a moment
A self-described hot sauce junkie, Whiting spent some of his free time on a heat-seeking mission among the markets of London.
“I was on a bit of a hot sauce quest. There’s a lot of craft sauce production there and I wanted to support some people I follow on social media,” he said noting that piri piri sauce is really popular in the UK.
He said England’s reputation for bland food is off base, and that Brits love hot sauce — including his.
“People loved it,” he said. “The reaction was incredibly encouraging. It’s nice to see it resonate with consumers in the UK.”
Watch party at local brewery
Whiting will watch the season premiere at Old Caz Beer in Rohnert Park, which is hosting a watch party and will show the East Coast feed of “Food Stars” at 6 p.m. for those who don’t want to wait until it airs at 9 p.m. on the West Coast or on Hulu the next day.
A taco truck will be on hand at the brewery and Whiting says he’ll have plenty of hot sauce with him to sell before and after the show.
He’s ramped up production of his artisan, fermented sauces including the moderately hot Fres-Yes made with Fresno chiles and ghost pepper, and Not Sauce made with gypsy peppers, carrots and onions that packs hot sauce flavor without the heat.
New sauces, farmers markets
Whiting also just released his first non-hot sauce condiment called The Briny Boy, which he made to go on oysters, but says it can be used in many other ways. He says it’s proven very popular with customers.
“I made it to be a mignonette so I could take it out to Tomales or Bodega. I’ll get some oysters, set up a barbecue, and grill oysters, vegetables and crostini with garlic butter and just hang out,” he said.
Despite what could be his newfound television fame, Whiting will continue to sell his sauces at the Santa Rosa Community Farmers’ Market on Farmers Lane every other Saturday and pop up at breweries and wineries whenever he can to ride the wave of hot sauce’s growing popularity. The industry is expected to boom during the next few years.
“We’re in the spicy season,” he said.
You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Graue at 707-521-5262 or jennifer.graue@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JenInOz.
