Spice things up! Myrtle Beach-area chef bottles a sauce with an amusing name
A Myrtle Beach-area restaurant owner and chef has officially bottled her line of sauces, including one full of spice with a name that makes you look twice.
Bootie Hole hot sauce, along with five other sauces, have been bottled in small batches by Indo Asian Bistro & Sushi chef and owner Laura Smith, and are now for sale in select spots around the area.
For years, Smith has created about 23 different sauces she uses in her restaurant and it has been her dream to bottle her sauces to for retail purposes.
Seeing “Bootie Hole Sauce” on the label definitely catches the eye: but why that?
“I needed to come up with a name that when people see it, it’s amusing,” Smith said of her signature hot sauce.
“I believe this sauce is going to be the next Sriracha,” she said. “It’s perfect for everything.” The sauce, made with ingredients including cayenne pepper, garlic and lime, goes well with Bloody Marys, chicken wings and even breakfast foods.
Her bottled sauces also include an eel sauce, Ponzu sauce, Szechuan hot sauce, Roasted Garlic Jalapeno sauce and Ceviche sauce.
About three years ago, Smith began to look for an investor to help with her line of sauces, and one day, a customer with a business background came in the restaurant and decided to invest, she said.
Originally from Indonesia, Smith has had three Indo locations on the Grand Strand since 2008. Her current restaurant is on Dick Pond Road in the Socastee area. The restaurant serves sushi, Thai noodle dishes, curry dishes, as well as daily happy hours.
And it has a special challenge for those who love spicy foods or are just plain brave: the spicy chicken wing challenge. If you finish an order of chicken wings with Bootie Hole sauce, your order is free.
Sauces may be purchased online through the chef’s website or Foodie City Network, at Oriental Food Market in Socastee and at the restaurant.
The 17-year-long chef said she is working with a company to expand her distribution. With only six of her 23 sauces currently bottle, she said she hopes to begin bottling the remaining ones for retail.
“People love it,” she said. “It’s exciting.”
