Heather, owner of She Devil Delights, can still remember the pungent smell coming from the big old pot in the backyard when her grandmother used to make relish. That was in 1942. Fast forward to 2016, after being passed on and enjoyed by a few generations of the family, She Devil Delights is sold in over 78 stores.
The family’s pepper relish was born in a farmhouse in Tillsonburg, Ontario Canada in 1947 to Heather’s grandma Lena. Lena’s two sons, Doug and Don, enjoyed this family recipe for several years before they moved to Oakville, Ontario where they couldn’t find the same local peppers. Neither of the boys forgot about the relish and over the years they sourced and made variations of their own spicy condiment.
With limited resources, Heather’s father would ration the stack of pepper relish and Heather began to get creative and cook her own. After many experiments with a large variety of chilis, the recipe, which would later become Hellish Relish, was born.
In the 1990’s, Heather began gifting small jars of the relish to family and friends. The idea to introduce the world to Hellish Relish started to evolve and Heather began to sell it at Farmer’s Markets and various craft fairs before expanding to a hot sauce speciality stores and several delis across the Kelowna area. Going beyond that would have required a registered bar code. The cost of that technology at that time prohibited Heather from taking that next step.
After living overseas for 11 years (Thailand and Australia) and 2 years in Northern Alberta, Heather returned to the Okanagan and began cooking with the fresh produce that was available. In March 2015, She Devil Delights was launched and Hellish Relish (barcode and all!) was reborn.
Where to find She Devil Delights:
-Across BC and Alberta
-In Vancouver: Edible Canada, Delish General Store, The Gourmet Warehouse, Nesters Market, Urban Fare, Choices Markets, Save-On-Foods,Red Barn Markets, Fairways Markets and Thrifty’s stores, and many independents including Nature’s Pickins, Heritage Meats, Well Seasoned and lepp Farm Market.
