DISH: Turn up the heat this holiday season

by Nikki M. Mascali
Weekender Editor

TURN UP THE HEAT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Looking to spice up the holidays? Look no further than TorchBearer Sauces. This Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based company has been around for about six years and will makes its way north next week when it opens a kiosk at the Wyoming Valley Mall (29 Wyoming Valley Mall, Wilkes-Barre).

“We liked the Wyoming Valley Mall,” said co-founder Tim Wortman. “We chose a couple locations right near our houses, but kind of wanted to branch out a little bit farther and hit a different area because we were frightened we’d get a lot of the same people.”

Wortman founded the company with David “Vid” Lynch and Ben Smith.

“We’re just friends from college who did spicy sauce on spaghetti for probably about six or seven years, and it just kind of grew,” Wortman explained. “We just tried to see how hot we could make stuff and burn each other out, pretty much. The first sauce was kind of a habanero preserve, and we just kind of went from there and built the rest of the product.”

TorchBearer’s sauces are all natural, gluten free and vegetarian.

“Our slogan is ‘accidentally healthy, intentionally delicious,’ and it’s true. We didn’t think that it might be good for you or healthy, we were just going with the different flavors,” Wortman explained.

Mandarin orange is one of the signature ingredients and is prominent in #7 Sultry Sauce, a spicy number Wortman kindly sent me to sample. It’s slightly chunky and sweet for a second before its heat kicks you. Though the heat lingers, you’re able to still taste the food it’s on.

I also sampled honey barbecue sauce which was mild, but also had punch, melding the taste of honey, garlic and red pepper deliciously. Though my boyfriend found it reminiscent of summer, I found it hearty enough for winter dishes, too.

“I put it on everything,” Wortman said of this sauce. “I dip fries in it, I put it on burgers, I put it on pizza.”

The final sample, honey garlic wing sauce, was powerfully garlicky yet delicate. On TorchBearer’s website, the first two samples are $5.99, the third $6.50.

TorchBearer has nearly 20 sauces in its arsenal and is looking to develop more.

“We want to do a chocolate one really bad,” Wortman said. “It’s a little daunting because we’re not sure how it’s going to work. We think the chocolate and the spice together would be really, really good.”

TorchBearer’s kiosk at the Wyoming Valley Mall will be open during normal mall hours from Tuesday, Nov. 1 through the end of December. For more info, visit torchbearersauces.com.

CORK FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Cork Bar & Restaurant (463 Madison St., Wilkes-Barre) will host A Flavor of the Holidays demonstrations featuring appetizers, desserts, cocktails and special guests.

Jake Hizny, corporate executive chef at Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc., will present Holiday Hors D’oeuvres & Martinis Tuesday, Nov. 1; Cathy Reppert of Truly Scrumptious will helm Holiday Baking & Holiday Cocktails Wednesday, Nov. 16; Cork baker Tammie Sciacca will present Pumpkin Roll & Warm Holiday Drinks Tuesday, Nov. 29 while culinary student and Cork staffer Kelly Barton will host Holiday Hors d’oeuvres & Champagne Cocktails Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Classes begin at 7 p.m. and are $15 per person and include sampling of items and recipes. Space is limited, call 570.270.3818 or e-mail at ruth@corkdining.com to reserve your spot.

THE COOKIE CRUMBLED

Blue Chip Gourmet (78 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre) has closed. The Loveland, Ohio-based cookie and sandwich-shop franchise, which opened in July 2009 in the University Corners complex, had former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins player Dennis Bonvie as its public face.

“The shareholders had a meeting and decided they wanted to go in a different direction,” Bonvie told The Times Leader last week. “I really wanted it to work. I was hoping it could keep going. I like downtown Wilkes-Barre.”

Bonvie’s Beefy King, which was adjacent to Blue Chip in the space of a former Quiznos, closed in the spring after less than a year.