Catching up with First Fridays Speakers: Off the Deck Hot Sauce

Midwesterners are known for a lot of things, including an accent made famous by the Coen Brothers and the varying recipes all categorized under hotdish. Although us northerners are experts at making stick-to-your-ribs winter comfort food and dessert bars, spiciness and heat aren’t often descriptors of what we bring to the table. A running gag around here is that some people find ketchup too spicy. It's one of those "it's funny because it's true" jokes. 

So, when Jeremiah and Rachel Utecht started working on their hot sauce, Off The Deck, four years ago, they were surprised by the community reaction. “This shouldn’t work,” says Jeremiah in reference to the Midwesterners’ seemingly lack of affinity for spice. In fact, their most requested sauce is #DadJokes, made with ghost peppers, one of the spiciest chili peppers in the world.

The Utechts have two “babies,” - first, their spicy creation, Off The Deck Hot Sauce, and their line of soda, Flannel Fizz, handcrafted with fresh, local ingredients and “no B.S.” Running two businesses inspires both joys and struggles. Even before COVID-19 hit, poor pepper growth this season significantly decreased their hot sauce production. 

Regardless, their sights are set on moving forward. While they still experiment with new flavors, their dreams and goals are focused on growing both businesses to a self-sustaining level, which requires easily repeatable product recipes and intense focus. Jeremiah recalls a quote he heard from Andrea Baumgardner, co-owner of BernBaum’s in Fargo. “‘You have to love the work.” He continues, “You can’t put in 80 hours a week without loving the work.”

What’s in store for the Utechts? Continuing to produce quality products and expand their wholesale reach for Off The Deck is their primary goal. Jeremiah and Rachel love their local retailers. As they described, local retailers were the ones who took a chance on them in the beginning, and Off The Deck wouldn’t have the success without local support. Those retailers and relationships will always remain a priority. But to reach their desired growth, Off The Deck needs to expand, a task already in the works. Current partnerships include various retailers in Fargo, Sioux Falls, Bismarck, Williston, and a work-in-progress collaboration in New York City. 

The F/M area’s craft food scene has really blossomed over the last few years, and Rachel and Jeremiah are happy to have been part of it. Being members of the food community, and partaking in events such as speaking at Food of the North’s First Fridays events, aided in connecting Jeremiah and Rachel to other food lovers. It’s an opportunity to not only learn from both the experienced and novice alike, but also to mentor newbies in their pursuit of creating a food business. Jeremiah’s advice for starting one: “Do it! But you have to love the work.”

Buy Off the Deck Hot Sauce online or learn where to purchase in Fargo-Moorhead
Follow Flannel Fizz on Facebook to stay updated on upcoming events
Watch Jeremiah and Rachel present at First Fridays (April 2019)