Courtesy Pure Heat Gourmet Sauce
East St. Louis native Reggie D. Smith got his start in the sauce business at the now-shuttered Pure Ultra Lounge's bar and grill. The sweet and spicy wings were especially popular—so popular, in fact, that demand for the wings persisted after the venue closed. Smith continued tinkering with his signature wing sauce, trying different bases, sugars, and spices until he hit on one that he really liked. The result: Pure Heat Gourmet Sauce, what he describes as "the perfect mixture of flame-free heat."
He began bringing the sauce to weddings, parties, and barbecues. “My family loves it,” he says. “Every time we're having a family gathering, they tell me, ‘Hey, don't come without the sauce.’"
He decided to bottle and sell the sauce during the pandemic, initially making it in his kitchen. But after 10 bottles turned into 100, he secured a commercial space, where his crew was soon producing 100,000 bottles every few weeks. At that point, Smith began selling to local markets and, over time, introduced three flavors: Sweet n Spicy, Sweet n Mild, and Garlic Heat.
The sauce grew in popularity through advertising, word-of-mouth, and Smith simply sharing it everywhere he went. Eventually, he contacted the condiment buyer from Schnucks, and now the sauce is available in more than 100 Schnucks stores across the Midwest.
Courtesy Pure Heat Gourmet Sauce
When trying to garner more publicity, a producer suggested that he become an executive producer for his own video show, and Smith accepted. Cooking with Pure Heat premieres August 29 on the AH! TV Network, with new episodes streaming weekly.
On the show, Smith will travel to different restaurants across the country to visit with chefs, discover their favorite recipes, and incorporate his sauce into new or existing dishes. The premiere episode, available to stream beginning this Sunday, will introduce Smith as he shares his sauces with people across St. Louis.
“It was made from scratch. It's made with love. It wasn't made for commercial use," he says. "It was made for the personal use of my friends and patrons of my bar and grill. It's not a barbecue sauce. It’s not a hot sauce. It's an 'all sauce' that can improve any dish.”
