Photograph courtesy Lola's Fine Hot Sauce
A taste of the Philippines is hitting Cincinnati grocery store shelves. Lola’s Filipino-Style Hot Sauce started as a homemade condiment, a staple on cofounder Carmelita “Lola” Shah’s dinner table. It’s inspired by traditional Filipino flavors—chiles and lots of fresh garlic. The flavorful sauce blossomed from its humble beginnings on the table at family gatherings and catching attention at potlucks to being a product crafted in small batches and sold across the country. Lola and her son Taufeek discuss the business and the road to bringing the sauce to Cincinnati grocery store shelves.
Photograph courtesy Lola's Fine Hot Sauce
Can you share the journey from making hot sauce in the Philippines to establishing a hot sauce business in Iowa?
Lola: The sauces I’d make in the Philippines were all fresh and made to be eaten immediately. We would pick fresh Thai chiles from the garden, add garlic and salt, grind it all in a mortar and pestle, and then add acid: either calamansi (Philippine lemon), lime, or vinegar. If we had a bunch of chiles, we would add them to a big jar with vinegar, salt, lime, and garlic and let them ferment. Eventually it macerates and thickens and you have a beautiful sauce that goes on anything. We ate a lot of fish and rice, and there was always a spicy sauce with the food. When I got to Iowa I would make a similar sauce that was always on the table with meals.
Photograph courtesy Lola's Fine Hot Sauce
What inspired you to transform your mother’s homemade recipe into a product?
Taufeek: It started off when there was a food day at work; I worked in the financial sector and the featured food that day was tacos. I needed to bring something so I wouldn’t be the guy who showed up empty-handed, so I looked around and found a case of hot sauce my mom had made and bottled some. I didn’t think much of it since I grew up eating it. I put the bottles out on the spread and within a couple hours I started getting e-mails from people at work asking what that sauce was and where they could buy it—not have it, but buy it.
How do you balance maintaining traditional Filipino flavors while using locally sourced Iowa ingredients?
Lola: Most of the ingredients I use are available everywhere. I can usually go to an Asian market and find what I need without too much difficulty. When I first started out, there was a farmer who grew the chiles and garlic I used. I’ve always been particular about the garlic. To this day, some of the friends I’ve made over the years will send me a few pounds of fresh garlic when it comes in season.
Your mission mentions creating hot sauce “for everyone to enjoy” rather than something that will “melt your face off.” How do you strike that balance between flavor and heat?
Lola: When I started, I just used my own taste and trusted my instincts. When Taufeek first started selling it, some people complained that the original wasn’t hot enough, but that’s not what my sauce is. It’s a spicy sauce for everyday use on every meal.
What makes Lola’s Original Hot Sauce stand out from other hot sauces on the market?
Taufeek: It’s the authenticity. Our slogan is “Our Flavor Runs in the Family” and we mean that. They’re actual family recipes I grew up eating. I’m not a chile-head or a chef trying to make the hottest or most creative artisanal hot sauce. This is an authentic part of my family that I want to share with the world.
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