Ol Dirty Sheets Hot Sauce is helping Wooster family change the world one meal at a time
By Ellen Pill
June 13, 2016
1688
Wooster natives Joshua Sheets and Jamie Smetzer and their two daughters are spicing things up around town, living exactly what they believe. Local Roots Market and Cafe, where Smetzer is the cafe manager, is the first store to carry their brand new concoction: Ol Dirty Sheets Hot Sauce.
Both Sheets and Smetzer are chefs and Sheets new business already has the feel of an old-fashioned family company. Its Woosters first and only hot sauce company, said Sheets, a professionally trained chef who has worked in every aspect of food preparation and service. Sheets is incredibly passionate about food and ingredient pairing. Theres a lot of love in each batch of sauce because its important to love what you do, he said
We believe in starting small and staying sustainable, Sheets said. Its important that we continue to make sauce in small batches and focus on the quality. The vegan family strives to live simply and use local products as much as possible. Their family meals are whole food and plant based, and their teenage daughters have already developed a love of natural foods and service to the community. Sheets wants to do more than share his love of hot sauce. The familys ultimate goal is to donate a percentage of Ol Dirty Sheets sales to Lasa Animal Sanctuary. Lasa is a nonprofit public charity founded by Smetzers sister, Wooster native Joy Smetzer.
This dynamic duo has also teamed up to offer classes to the community at Todays Kitchen Store in downtown Wooster. Sheets said, As instructors we aim to bring vegan cuisine to a new level, unraveling the myth that eating healthy has to be difficult and expensive. We utilize local products as much as possible and prepare meals that reflect the seasons.
Since I was about 19, Ive been fascinated by hot sauce, Sheets said. For years I thought, there are some tasty sauces out there, but I think I could make a better one, one Id want to eat every day. He began making small batches of sauce and sharing it with friends. They loved it. People started asking me where they could buy it, he said.
A graduate of the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts, Sheets discovered his passion for cooking with jalapeno and habanero chili peppers while working at a Caribbean restaurant. Señor Smoke Dawg, the flavor currently available for sale, is just the first of what we hope will be a whole line of sauces, Sheets said. The label announces the new condiment as Your Everyday Gotta Have it Chipotle Sauce.
Starting a company hasnt been an easy journey, but both Smetzer and Sheets have remained committed to creating a top-notch product that supports other local businesses and entrepreneurs along the way.
Ol Dirty Sheets is produced in the community commercial kitchen at Local Roots Market & Cafe in downtown Wooster. The colorful label on the bottles was designed by Wooster native artist Hannah Zurko. Sheets last name is brought to life by the sheets hanging on the clothesline on the bottles artwork. Ol Dirty comes from a nickname formed during many years of kitchen humor.
Weve both spent time living in other states; however, we were drawn back to Wooster to be close to family and friends. We love our community and think Wooster has evolved into an awesome town and place to live, Smetzer said.
Music is another of Sheets long time passions, and one he also loves to share. After many years of playing in a variety of venues including some regional touring, he had stopped playing for a time. Recently, a gig in a local restaurant sparked a renewed interest. With the hot sauce business finally underway, he hopes to continue to play locally.
It seems likely that one day soon Sheets will be heard playing his guitar and singing at one of Woosters many eateries while patrons spice up their meal with a touch of Señor Smoke Dawg.
Sheets sums up the family philosophy. Our mind-set here at Ol Dirty Sheets is to make not only simple and beautifully crafted sauces and other spicy culinary concoctions one day soon, but to have a positive impact on our world, our culture and our environment. We think that our world is our responsibility as a people, each and every one of us, and no one can go it alone.
