The Best Fiery Foods

Enlarge Image Image Gallery A few of the products at DennyMike's 'Cue Stuff. courtesy DennyMike's 'Cue Stuff

York, Maine – DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff, the all-natural, gluten-free line of Texas-style barbecue sauces and rubs from Maine, earned two First Place medals at the 2010 Scovie Awards held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contest officials announced recently.  One of the industry’s most competitive gourmet food contests, this year’s awards recognized the top fiery foods and barbecue products from around the globe, having attracted nearly 600 products from 32 states and countries and provinces as diverse as Panama, Australia, Japan, Antigua and Canada.

DennyMike’s “Hot ’N Nasty” sauce bested the competition in the “Barbecue Sauce – All-Natural Hot” category, and DennyMike’s “Cow Bell Hell” rub was awarded an additional First Place win in the “Dry Rub/All-Purpose” category.  The Scovie Awards are selected based on blind taste tests by a panel of the country’s most influential culinary experts. 

“The recipes for my rubs and sauces at DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff were created to appeal to people looking for a broad range of heat in their cooking,” says Dennis M. (DennyMike) Sherman, the growing company’s founder.  “It means a lot to me to have our barbecue products recognized at a respected event like this.”

Named for Wilbur Scoville, who pioneered a rating scale for spicy foods, the Scovie Awards have become the industry standard for excellence in more than 80 categories of fiery foods and barbecue.

"Every year, I am increasingly impressed with the diversity and quality of the products entered in the Scovie Awards,” says Dave DeWitt, dubbed by the New York Times as the “Pope of Peppers” and the author of more than 35 books on chile peppers, fiery cuisines and barbecue.

The Scovie Award adds to the growing collection of medals and recognition being earned by DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff’s barbecue sauces and rubs.  At the 18th Annual National Barbecue Association’s (NBBQA) Conference & Expo, held earlier this year in Austin, Texas, DennyMike’s “Pixie Dust” and “Chick Magnet” rubs earned First Place/Gold Medals in the All Purpose Rubs and Southwest Rubs categories, and DennyMike’s “Sweet ’N Spicy” and “Carolina Style” sauces won Fourth Place awards in the Mild Tomato and Spicy Vinegar categories.