Jamie Faitelson had an early fascination with the food icons who gained fame as television chefs: Julia Child and Graham Kerr. As a child, Jamie feigned illness so he could stay home from school and watch those cooking shows.
Fast forward to Jamie’s adulthood, where he worked in the luxury watch business, a job that took him to different parts of the globe where he could indulge his love of food and culture. He avidly read cook books, worked in restaurants for free and gained an appreciation for the rhythm found in kitchens where people work under pressure and in close quarters. (His nickname, “Hymie Grande,” emerged from that experience.)
Jamie, a University at Buffalo graduate, ended up going to cooking school and honed his passion for concocting unusual flavor combinations. A lover of Mexican food and BBQ, Jamie started making his own sauces; in the summer of 2003, Chef Hymie Grande BBQ Sauce debuted.
I met Jamie recently when he was sampling sauces at a local store. I also did my own taste test at a family get-together and the reviews were outstanding. Because I love anything with heat and tang, my favorite is the Cascabel Express, called “surprisingly hot.” I pour it on popcorn and cannot stop munching. It is delicious on chicken, grilled vegetables and a terrific glaze for fish. My family tried all three sauces and expressed an appreciation for the subtleties and natural taste of the hot selection: “awakened my salivary glands,” “has a nice warm finish.” The other two sauces, Polapote (mild) and New Mexico (sweet), were well-received as well.
While all three products got our stamp of approval, it’s nice to know that Jamie’s sauces are vegan friendly and all natural with no high-fructose corn syrup or processed sugars. It is the first BBQ sauce approved by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Jamie, a talented and multifaceted professional, is also generous: he donates five percent of his proceeds to the ADA.
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