Meet the Chef
Max Famiglietti
Chef Max Famiglietti has been cooking since he was released to the world at 18, heading off to the University of Florida to study Mechanical Engineering. Armed with a handful of his mother's amazing recipes, he quickly added his own essence into those meals - that essence? Heat. That handful of meals quickly evolved into dozens of home cooked dishes, with ever increasing spice levels. And though he dabbled into homemade hot sauces over the years it wasn't until recently that Tiger Fire was born. Scroll down to read more!
Fast forward to March 2020, after a year long backpacking trip through South America, Famiglietti finds himself in a COVID lockdown in Moksha Hostel in Huanchaco, Peru. With the country shutdown, Famiglietti and 25 other international travelers are stuck in this hostel with nothing but time and a lot of fresh Peruvian produce. Needless to say, not long into the lockdown, Tiger Fire Hot Sauce was born. And just like the Netflix Tiger King Documentary for which its named, Tiger Fire blew up in popularity in Huanchaco! Scroll down to read more!
Tiger Fire quickly became a currency in Moksha, with Famiglietti trading spoonful's for everything from beers to full course meals, and soon after, for Soles - the Peruvian currency. As the town opened up, the Moksha Restaurant opened up for take out, at which point Max was able to sell Tiger Fire through the restaurant. The notoriety of the sauce in the town landed Famiglietti his first ever restaurant job as Co-Head Chef of Hola Ola Point - a local restaurant startup. Keep scrolling!
With Max as a Co-Chef, Hola Ola went from Peruvian to Peruvian x American Fusion, as Famiglietti mixed in his flare to the fare. And with Tiger Fire as a staple sauce in nearly every meal, Famiglietti learned how to scale up production and it was around this time that he knew that TF had really great potential.
After 6 months in Huanchaco (5 more than planned!), Famiglietti returned to the United States, leaving behind his second home and a set of life long friends, but bringing with him, a new language, some incredible memories and an amazing hot sauce recipe.
Famiglietti returned to Sarasota, FL in December of 2020 and immediately converted the recipe to Habanero - his all time favorite pepper. Local popularity for Tiger Fire grew explosively and on January 1st, 2021 Tiger Fire Hot Sauce (Tiger Fire LLC) was born.
The Tiger Fire Container Progression
April 2020
Sauce Cups: the first Peruvian Tiger Fire Containers
December 2020
Dime Bags: the first American Tiger Fire Containers
January 2021
Mason Jars: after Max realized how absurd dime bags were..
January 2021
Woozy Bottles: after Max realized he shouldn't re-invent the wheel..