Watch the Hot Crispy Oil Interview
About Hot Crispy Oil
As John explains, “We came out pretty fast. We’re COVID born, the concept, the idea, was spawned off the closure of a family restaurant going back to when things got really hairy there back in March.” They officially launched in July but have already had some great success. They are already in about 40 retailers.
In March restaurants were shutting their doors left and right and they were one of those restaurants. La Serre was a 40 year old restaurant in the Albany area that relied heavily on their banquet business. It was evident something needed to change.
Like many of us, John had been experimenting in the kitchen during COVID which is where he came up with the concept for Hot Crispy Oil. After a few tweaks and some love from family and friends, they decided to move full steam ahead with getting the product in the jar.
The product itself is a blended olive oil which includes a little vegetable oil due to the smoke point for frying the garlic and shallots that make up the crispy portion. The heat comes from a blend of 4 to 5 different chili peppers.
Starting a Food Manufacturing Business During COVID
For John, this wasn’t a hobby or side-hustle. He was determined to make this work now that the restaurant was longer open. He put in the time, doing the research, grinding every day, finding out who to connect with to make Hot Crispy Oil a reality.