By: Zeb Hargett

How New Orleans Does Flavor!

I’ve noticed these days that more than a few restaurants are creating their own hot sauces. It’s hard to know from which to choose. Many start with a base sauce, easily sourced from a variety of products on the market. The names may be familiar, and most people have their favorites. For us, it’s Crystal Hot Sauce.

This New Orleans product has a rich history and a wide following. When we want a quick and easy way to saute a fish filet, like freshly caught Speckled Trout, it’s just butter and Crystal Hot Sauce, and it always turns out delicious. This recipe, if you will, came from our friend Shelley Leigh, who may be the best cook we know who is not a professional chef. Crystal doesn’t overpower the fish or cover up the flavor. Linda asks for it in every restaurant we go to, and we use it abundantly to enhance meals at home. 

The history of Crystal Hot Sauce is tied to perhaps the most famous restaurant family in New Orleans, the Brennan family. I sat down with Crystal Hot Sauce President and CEO, Alvin Baumer, III (called Pepper before he came out of the womb) to learn more about our favorite condiment.

Pepper was born and raised in New Orleans and earned his Hospitality Management degree with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Alabama in 2012. “I wanted to get one more National Championship under my belt,” he says. Before college, he worked in Crystal’s production plant in New Orleans, sweeping the warehouse, and then hand-loading containers before being promoted to forklift operator loading trucks.

A third-generation business, Pepper purchased the company from his father in 2019 after earning his “MBA” at the foot of Ella Brennan, his aunt, and founder of Commander's Palace, one of the most famous and iconic restaurants in New Orleans. If you haven’t already, watch Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table, a documentary on her rise to fame, the start of famous chefs that emanate under her tutelage, and the impeccable service she instilled in her staff. It’s certainly worth a watch.

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“I worked at Commander’s Palace for three years after spending a year with the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, now called New Orleans & Company. Aunt Ella taught me the ins and outs of running a business. I shadowed Ti Brennan, Ella’s daughter, throughout the day, and then at 3:30 pm every afternoon I would go to Ella’s home across the street. She would throw the Wall Street Journal at me and make me read the whole thing.”

Ella would then ask Pepper to pick out three articles and tell her why he picked those three subjects. Then she would ask, what worked? What didn’t, and what could they have done better? “I was managing the dining room at the time, and she had a saying, ‘Brennan on Duty’ or ‘BOD’ for short. She insisted that one family member would be in the dining room while the restaurant was in service.”

In 2014, after Mardi Gras, Pepper began working at Crystal Hot Sauce in Quality Assurance, shadowing the VP of Operations. He tells me that his grandfather, Alvin Baumer, found the recipe for Crystal Pure hot sauce tucked away in an old desk and began making the sauce for friends and family. In 1923, He formed Baumer Foods, primarily making preserves, much of which was sent to feed the troops during WWII. His grandfather said that so much product went down with the merchant ships that were sunk, that the ocean must taste sweet.

As the Crystal Preserves were the mainstay business, Crystal Hot Sauce became more and more popular. Made with three simple ingredients including fresh Cayenne peppers sourced exclusively from Mexico, it was never about being the hottest hot sauce, as Crystal is used by chefs as an ingredient to enhance flavor, not overwhelm dishes.

Producing Crystal Hot Sauce for over 100 years has not been without challenges. The company’s location on Tulane Avenue had a prominent Crystal Preserves sign that could be seen from Interstate 10. Then Katrina destroyed the facility, (along with the rest of the city) and a new plant was built in Reserve, Louisiana, near New Orleans. 

Pepper worked in every department including shipping & receiving, purchasing, production scheduling, preparation, and final production, as well as quality assurance. After purchasing the business in 2019, things were going very well until the pandemic. Business was booming at first, and then in 2021, the world shut down.

“It was trial by fire,” says Pepper. “Up was down, down was up, and the supply chain was unreliable, to say the least. We couldn’t source bottles, supplies were limited, and there were no overseas deliveries. Allocations were reduced by 50%.”  Their trademark green neck bottles from Mexico were unavailable, and they had to reduce from two shifts to one.

“We rode out the storm and never laid anyone off. It was a three-year hiccup, but in the 4th quarter of 2023, things finally caught up and we increased production.” Today, Pepper says business is good. With several product lines of Crystal sauce now offered, he says, “We are making improvements and adding additional lines to meet demand.”

Crystal Hot Sauce is delivered to 75 countries, but “The Southeastern Conference is our bread and butter,” he says. New Orleans is their biggest market. After that, Miami is number one, with Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Northern California all being strong markets. “We are growing in the Twin Cities, Houston, and North Carolina. We are a regional company but at the same time a global company.”

What makes Crystal so popular? “It’s a simple recipe,” says Pepper. “It has a distinguished flavor profile. Not the hottest but the most flavorful, it’s a well-rounded flavor hot sauce for everybody. We like to say “sigh, not cry.” Crystal Hot Sauce doesn’t take anything away from the dish you are creating. We are the chef’s best friend, only enhancing the dish.”

Pepper says that their best marketing tool is having people try Crystal.  He tells me when his dad would go to a restaurant and ask for hot sauce. If they brought him Crystal, he would tip the server a $100 bill. After that, they would never serve anything but Crystal Hot Sauce again.

Pepper is a big ambassador for the City of New Orleans. He is seeing a positive resurgence in tourism, especially as the host city for this year’s Super Bowl. As a big sports fan, he’s excited and wants people to know the city is back on track for tourism and fine dining is at the heart of any visit. 

“Commander’s Palace was fully booked during Taylor Swift's recent three-day concert, including Monday night following the weekend. Visitors had a great time. It was good to see moms and daughters having fun, and it showed that people can enjoy the city safely. Every hotel room was booked, and New Orleans benefited to the tune of $350 million. With tourism being the number one attraction, there is a lot of effort to build back the reputation of the city.”

Linda and I love New Orleans and plan to visit soon. Commander’s Palace is on the dining list. I consider New Orleans the top food city in the country, bar none. I was fortunate to live there for a few years after college, and it’s such a quick and easy trip from the Scenic 98 Coastal area. I’m glad to see the city moving in the right direction!

As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked Pepper what his favorite dish was with Crystal Hot Sauce. “It’s the Shrimp and Tasso at Commander’s. It’s everyone's favorite.” For more Crystal recipes, go to Crystal Hot Sauce recipes.

Thanks, Pepper, for being so generous with your time. Crystal Hot Sauce is a staple at our house. As Mikey says, “Try it. You’ll like it.”