How We Started
From Skate Culture to Scoville Scale: The Zamm'Z Hot Sauce Story
Ryan Zammit grew up skateboarding in San Diego and always had fun with the pain that went with accomplishment, so it is only natural that he enjoys the pain of the world's hottest peppers as well. Zamm and lifetime friend Jim Kappel, both with over 30 years in the skateboard industry and the culinary world, started experimenting with peppers and sauces for fun. Ryan had been working in the restaurant business and Jim graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), so this background helped them create some bold and interesting flavors. Great flavor takes time, and a lot of it. Ryan Zammit started making hot sauces in 2012 as a hobby to create flavor profiles and heat levels that weren't easy to find outside of specialty stores. His passion slowly turned into an obsession. From seed trading to growing, he started the business when he realized he had grown so many pepper varieties that his backyard began to look like an exotic pepper orchard. Zammit enjoyed crafting sauces from his homegrown peppers and getting feedback from family and friends to create the perfect balance of heat and flavor. He believes the right sauce can unlock bolder flavors in food and enhance any dish. "People work so hard on developing amazing recipes for people to just to cover them up with "hot sauce." As with any recipe, something added should complement any creation, not cover it up. Have fun in life with a little sauce on the side. Cheers friends!Fun Fact - Why 100 Percent Good?
Back in 2013 we were trying to come up with a slogan with a few friends, tequila and were all sitting around coming up with all sorts of funny slogans with minimal success when my daughter who was 4 years old at the time walks in looks at us and says "dad just tell them it's 100 percent good" mic dropped and left. We all with tequila in hand looked at each other and cheers to 100 percent good! Leave it to a little kid and a wonderful imagination to come up with that!
