Small Axe Peppers offers a line-up of at least 10 different hot sauces to-date, but their business is about much more than just delicious hot sauce. With the help of community groups like GrowNYC and the Bronx Green-Up of the New York Botanical Garden, Small Axe peppers support local community gardens. These community gardens grow and supply the very peppers that the company uses to produce their line of hot sauces. This partnership helps these community gardens fund themselves and their mission within their community. Small Axe Peppers started with just five community gardens in Bronx, NY and now partners with more than 75 community gardens across the country.
- The Small Axe Peppers Story and Mission
- A New Economic Model for Urban Farming, A Cycle of Giving Back
- The Greenmarket
- The Community Gardens
- The Small Axe Peppers Hot Sauce Line-Up
- The Influence of Executive Chef, King Phojanakong
The Small Axe Peppers Story and Mission
The Small Axe Peppers story begins in the spring of 2014 when founders John A. Crotty, John Fitzgerald, Todd Snyder and Drew Doscher came together to develop a business which would also prove to be a successful community program. They understood that strong communities are built by people coming together. So they partnered with GrowNYC and donated Serrano Pepper seeds and seedlings to five community gardens in The Bronx.
GrowNYC was created in 1970 with a mission to improve New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs. The plan was to transform communities block by block and create a cleaner and healthier environment for future generations. They work to achieve this through a variety of programs, two of which were integral to the Small Axe Peppers story: (1) Greenmarket – a network of local farmers markets that ensure New Yorkers have access to fresh, healthy, local food. And, (2) Community Gardens – they build and support community and school gardens through volunteer days offering technical assistance, training, school garden grants and more.
The following year the Small Axe Pepper company partnered with the Bronx Green-Up, an outreach program of the New York Botanical Garden, to bring twenty more local community gardens into the fold. Similar to GrowNYC, the Bronx Green-Up program works to be a visible presence with the NYC community, improving the local community through a variety of greening projects including community gardens and urban farming. That year over a ton of serrano peppers were harvested and a new economic model for urban farming was born.
A New Economic Model for Urban Farming, A Cycle of Giving Back
Is Small Axe Peppers the first to use this economic model for urban farming? Perhaps not, but more importantly we can be assured with their success they won’t be the last. The process can be described across four stages: Growing, Harvesting, Manufacturing, and Distribution/Sales
- Growing: Small Axe Peppers donates and distributes pepper seeds and seedlings to the community gardens at the start of each growing season. Community Gardens allocate a portion of their gardens to cultivate and grow the pepper plants to maturity.
- Harvesting: Local non-profit community groups provide technical guidance to gardeners and coordinate the collection of the peppers throughout the growing season.
- Manufacturing: Peppers are cooked according to Executive Chef King Phojanakong’s carefully crafted recipes.
- Distribution/Sales: Retailers carry and sell Small Axe Peppers Hot Sauces, with each bottle sold directly supporting local community gardens. Thus, completing the cycle.
The Greenmarket
In 1976, GrowNYC started its Greenmarket program to ensure a continuing supply of fresh, local produce for all New Yorkers. Greenmarket provides regional farmers with the opportunity to sell their fruits and vegetables at open-air farmers markets. These markets are spread throughout New York City including their flagship Union Square Greenmarket. In doing so, Greenmarket helps preserve regional farmland for future generations.
Greenmarket is truly farm-to-table since it’s a producer-only market. That means the farmers and fisheries sell their own product (no middle-men) ensuring that the purchasers know exactly from where their food originates. Fish and food come from a broad region of the Northeast including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and New England ensuring a diverse selection of fresh food.
GrowNYC also offers a Wholesale Greenmarket in Hunts Point, Bronx, offering wholesale purchasers like restaurants the ability to find high-quality farm-to-table produce for their restaurants.
The Community Gardens
Small Axe Peppers works with more than 75 community gardens in 16 cities across America. They source their peppers from gardens at a premium price so gardens can earn income to support the maintenance of their gardens. You can find their community gardens in the following cities:
- Tucson, AZ
- Sacramento, CA
- Oakland, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Hartford, CT
- Chicago, IL
- Baltimore, MD
- Detroit, MI
- Charlottesville, NC
- Queens, NY
- Bronx, NY
- Austin, TX
- Houston, TX
- San Antonio, TX
- Salt Lake City, UT
Find more information about Small Axe Pepper community gardens in a city near you.
The Small Axe Peppers Hot Sauce Line-Up
Small Axe Peppers has developed a varied and sizable list of hot sauces whose names reflect the cities where the community garden peppers are grown. Here is a list of their sauces with links to our Spicy Addict Reviews of them. You can browse all of the Small Axe Pepper hot sauces on Amazon.
The Bronx Green Hot Sauce
The Bronx Green Hot Sauce is a moderately hot verde-style sauce. Its main pepper is the serrano and it has a noticeable amount of garlic which we like. The most prominent flavors are tangy, sweet, peppery, and savory.
The Bronx Red Hot Sauce
The Bronx Red Hot Sauce is a medium heat red pepper-style sauce. Its main pepper is the serrano (we assume it is made with red serranos). The most prominent flavors are tangy, sweet, and peppery.
Queens 7 Greenmarket Hot Sauce
Queens 7 Greenmarket Hot Sauce is a medium heat fruit-style sauce. Its main pepper is the jalapeno with sugar and fish sauce added for sweetness and depth. The most prominent flavors are sweet and tangy.
The Baltimore Habanero Ginger Hot Sauce
Spicy Addict hasn’t yet sampled this sauce.
The Chicago Red Hot Jalapeno Hot Sauce
The Chicago Red Hot Jalapeno Hot Sauce is a moderately hot sauce with a pickled- or relish-style. Its main pepper is the jalapeno and also has the distinct flavor of dill! The most prominent flavors are tangy, savory, and peppery.
The Detroit Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
The Detroit Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce is a very hot red pepper-style sauce with a slight chipotle flavor. Its main peppers are the habanero and ghost peppers and also includes a bit of chipotle powder. The most prominent flavors are peppery and tangy.
Los Angeles Habanero Mango Hot Sauce
The Los Angeles Habanero Mango Hot Sauce is a very hot tomato-based sauce. Its main pepper is habanero and also has the distinct flavor of tamarind. The most prominent flavors are sweet, tangy, and savory.
The Oakland California Raisin Hot Sauce
The Oakland California Raisin Hot Sauce is a moderately hot sauce with an almost fruity flavor. Its main peppers are jalapeno and serrano and it’s sweetened with raisins and brown sugar. The most prominent flavors are sweet, peppery, and savory.
The Texas Tangy Tamarindo Hot Sauce
Spicy Addict hasn’t yet sampled this sauce.
The Atlanta Georgia Peach Hot Sauce
Spicy Addict hasn’t yet sampled this sauce.
The Influence of Executive Chef, King Phojanakong
When Small Axe Pepper decided to launch their first hot sauce they knew they were going to need a recipe that would sell. That’s when Executive Chef, King Phojanakong got involved.
King is a New York native and graduate of the Bronx High School of Science whose culinary influences began at home. Inspired by the inspirational cooking of his Filipino mother and Thai father, childhood summers spent in the Philippines furthered his interest in the culinary world and instilled the importance of community and culture.
He received his formal culinary education from The Culinary Institute of America where he was selected as one of the 10 Best Student Chefs of the Year. Afterwards, he went on to work with Daniel Boulud at Restaurant Daniel and David Bouley at Danube which later became Brushstroke Restaurant.
King opened Kuma Inn in 2003 and Umi Nom in 2009. He has been featured in television programs including Cutthroat Kitchen, Chopped, Food(ography), Selling New York and Mike Colameco’s Real Food. It was in 2014 that he partnered with GrowNYC and childhood friend, John Crotty of Small Axe Peppers, to create The Bronx Hot Sauce. In 2017, King began instructing at ICE at a time in his career when he felt compelled to give back. “We teach and learn everyday in the kitchen – I just wanted to do it in a more formal setting where everyone is on the same page sharing the same passion,” King said.
