Banhoek Chilli oil came about as a result of endless discussions over a family Sunday lunch. “Together we tried over 60 combinations of chilli variants and edible oils over about three months of Sunday lunches until we found the perfect bite of flavour,” said Ken Kinsey-Quick, CEO and Co-Founder. “We often get asked why canola (rapeseed) and not olive and the problem with the latter is it overpowers the flavour of the chilli.”
A truly family affair, Ken and his brother-in-law Adi Meintjes make the perfect duo, with Ken a former fund manager and Adi a hard-working former sheep farmer and passionate ‘foodie’. These diligent entrepreneurs are on a mission to create a global brand of chilli oil comparable with Tabasco, the iconic American hot sauce made from tabasco peppers – and they have found just the right location to make it happen.
Home grown
Banhoek Valley is located in the heart of the Stellenbosch winelands of the Western Cape in South Africa. Known as the Cape Floral Kingdom, its fynbos-nurtured terroir and rare ecosystem – famous for Rooibos tea and world-class wines – are ideal for growing bird’s eye sun-ripened chillies, also known as African devils due to their heat!
The company’s non-GMO canola is harvested and pressed just over the mountains in the Overberg region. The chillies are hand-picked by the local community, who are also deeply involved in the project. In fact, hiring locally is a major objective of the company, creating employment and training initiatives.
“The majority of our staff are hired from our local community and we actively support and promote keen employees,” says Kinsey-Quick. “We are very proud that one of our shareholders, Sibongile, a former farm worker in the area, is now an important member of our production team.”
The story goes that after the first few years, Sibongile arrived in Ken’s sales office with a pile of hard-saved bank notes asking to become a shareholder. The rest is history!
From the ‘Skunkworks’ to the World
“Adi is the foodie partner and he is charge of our taste lab, which we affectionately call the ‘Skunkworks’. While we remain a small facility, we have also opened a deli store which has become the biggest chilli deli in the southern hemisphere where visitors can do a comparative tasting of our nine difference flavours. Our latest launch is chilli and black pepper oil and our brand new ‘chilli crunch’ is a fun condiment for cold platters. Visitors can also enjoy a fresh pizza from our oven accompanied by what we believe is our perfect pizza drizzle. Where a sauce is designed to change the flavour of food, we believe our chilli oil acts as a neutral condiment that simply adds a little heat.”
What started as a passion project in their kitchen is fast becoming a global, award-winning enterprise appealing to an international palate.
“We first went into formal production in 2020 in our small factory here in Banhoek (which translated literally means “scary corner” due to its history of scary wildlife) and are already producing 20,000 glass 250ml bottles a month as well as 50,000 sachets (for restaurants) and 10,000 20 ml mini bottles (ideally suited for onboard travel).
“We are sending container-loads to the UK and are bizarrely popular in Denmark and Iceland following visits from bothcountries. Our product is totally pure and neutral with no additives and we truly believe that one day our chilli oil will become a global brand,” added Ken.
Watch this space! banhoekchillioil.com
