Two longtime friends from New Jersey are proving great hot sauce does not have to come from the South.

The product is called Jersey Barnfire, created by Austin D’Almeida and John Sauchelli.

The idea began about 13 years ago when the two started making hot sauce for themselves and giving it to friends and family.

“It was a way to utilize my garden, and it caught on real quick,” D’Almeida said. “Everybody kept asking us for more.”

What started as a hobby in the Sparta area has grown into an operation that now sells hundreds of thousands of bottles a year, locally and across the world.

The team offers a range of sauces, from mild to hot, along with unusual flavors like mushroom teriyaki and strawberry scorpion.

The ingredients are still sourced locally.

“We wanted everybody to know where the sauce was coming from, where the ideas were coming from, where the peppers were coming from,” Sauchelli said.

The brand gained attention after appearing at a food show in New Mexico, where skeptics initially questioned hot sauce made in New Jersey.

“People would hear hot sauce from New Jersey and shake their head,” Sauchelli said. “Then they would taste it.”

The company remains small, with just five friends working together.

John Sauchelli handles the cooking, while the group works as a team mixing, bottling and shipping each order.

“We all do things together,” D’Almeida said. “It’s become such a cool network of people that just keeps growing as we grow.”

The team says the sauce is as much about community as flavor.

“A lot more people want to be connected to where their food comes from,” Sauchelli said.

The Jersey Barnfire team says they plan to keep betting that a community‑driven recipe can put New Jersey hot sauce on the map.

If you want to get some sauce for yourself, Jersey Barnfire is offering 10% off if you use code - NEWS12NJ.