Interview with our Owner and Founder

We took a hiatus over the winter and a bit of the spring, but we’re back.  We hope you have all enjoyed the crazy weather sent our way in the last few months and are ready for real spring and summer to settle in the Mile High City.  Flaming Garden is more than ready to get out and meet new folks to introduce them to our tasty jellies. 

If you’ve missed us, then you haven't visited our website, www.flaminggarden.com which is awaiting your visit and an order for more jars.  If you're out and about you can now find us on Saturday mornings at the Cherry Creek Farmers Market at the Mall on 1st and University in Denver.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Interview with the Owner

In this post we'll focus our attention on the founder, creator and genius behind our delicious products, Rebecca/Becky Bennett.  She is a true entrepreneur who has taken a simple holiday treat/gift and turned it into a rockin’ new business.  I spoke with Becky last autumn and asked her about Flaming Garden, her inspiration and her life as an entrepreneur.  Here is what I found out.

Personal Information and Background

Becky is married to Dan and they have two young boys, Braden 6, and Taylen 5.  The other members of the family are Deuce, a golden retriever, and Tank and Farrah, their Mastiffs.  Needless to say, even without Flaming Garden, Becky has her hands full.

Becky’s background is in ranching, working as an EMT on an ambulance, and being a desk jockey at an insurance company.  But, hidden deep down inside is an entrepreneur who will not be held back by convention or ‘the system.’  Her first entrepreneurial endeavor was tying halter ropes when she worked a ranch with her first husband in Nevada.  She also competed in Rodeos a bit back then. 

After moving to Colorado, she started her first business, Soul Source, with Dan which turned out to be just a tax write off.  Her next enterprises were Two Hearts Tropical, breeding cyclids from Africa, and Caring Hands massage staring her husband, Dan, as the masseuse.  When she and Dan closed the fish breeding business they embarked on a jelly journey, Flaming Garden, that has been lots of hard work, yet very rewarding. 

Inspiration

I asked Becky what has attracted her to all of these endeavors.  She told me that the halter tying was a draw for her because of the intricacies involved in the work.  Halter tying is an art and she enjoyed the challenge of creating a perfect product.  This love of an artistic challenge has been a driving force behind her unrelenting creative spirit.  Her other endeavors interested her because they involved working with animals or were a creative outlet.

How Flaming Garden Came to be

We talked about Flaming Garden and how that all began.  A friend of Becky's from Hawaii taught her how to make Jalapeno Jelly many years ago.  Becky enjoyed the making the jelly so much that she began making it every year at the holidays as a gift for friends and family.  After a number of years she started playing around with other flavors to go in the jelly.  When these became a success, she began working with other types of chile peppers like Habanero and Jolokia.  She enjoyed the creative challenge here of developing flavors using hot peppers and sweet fruits or savory vegetables.  Her new creations were such a success with friends, family and co-workers that she decided to try to sell some at a company holiday craft fair.  When she almost sold out, she decided this might be a new business.  Flaming Garden was born.

Pepper Creativity

I had to ask her how she comes up with all the creative and delicious flavors.  Her response was that she gets ideas and inspiration from many places.  She herself dreams up so many ideas that most of them are still dreams.  Friends and family have also given her ideas that she has tried and made a success.  For instance, a friend suggested pairing jalapeno with pomegranate.  It is now one of her best-selling flavors. 

When we talked about using the jelly as an ingredient in cooking, she said she wasn’t sure how it all started.  However, she does remember a customer telling her that they put the Strawberry Jolokia over Vanilla Ice Cream and it was delicious.  She and Dan tried it themselves and it's now a favorite dish.  This inspired Becky and Dan to start experimenting with different uses for the jelly.  If you’ve been following this blog, you will know that we have recipes on our website and I have posted many ideas here.  Becky and Dan have used the different jellies for grilling and marinades, as well as toppings for various appetizers.  I asked Becky if her two boys, Braden and Taylen, like the jellies.  She said they do, but that she makes them special batches without the peppers.

Worker Bees

As for who does the work for the business, Becky said it’s mostly her and Dan.  Occasionally they have friends help with cooking when they need large amounts of product, like preparation for People’s Fair and Pride Fest. The boys help out once in a while, with Mom, stirring or taking lids off new jars so they can be sanitized and filled.  Dan does most of the heavy lifting and helps to jar the cooked jelly.  He's also a great salesman and loves to talk with customers at events and markets. 

Flaming Future

Flaming Garden is not just a jelly business though.  As some of you may already know, Becky makes excellent pickled Jalapenos and hot habanero dill pickle relish.  She also makes hot dill pickles by brining them with habaneros.  While these items are not part of the Flaming Garden website yet, you can always contact Becky to ask about them.  There are plans for expanding the product line in the near future to add more jellies and increase production of the pickled Jalapenos and dill pickle products.

Becky’s ultimate goal for Flaming Garden is for it's products to be available in your favorite local grocery store.  While sometimes this seems like a pipe dream, I believe that Becky will make this dream come true.  She obtained a degree in business management a few years ago and is preparing Flaming Garden for their next big step.

Conclusion

Becky is a most excellent creative mind with an impeccable business sense.  She has created a much loved family of products that has a bright, HOT future.  Becky hopes that you will come along with her and the Flaming Garden family on this journey.  She wants to ‘wow’ and ‘inspire’ you with flavors. 

So check out our website, if you haven’t been there yet, and look for us at farmers markets and events this summer.  As usual, I will keep the blog updated with our calendar, so subscribe to the blog and keep current on our activities.  We love to see you and hear about your latest adventures with when “Sweet Meets Heat!”