One local chef is bringing some heat to Ballarat.
In a town with a reputation for cold, one local chef is heating things up. Gavin Roberts is the owner and founder of Nomad Chilli Co, a Ballarat-based business specialising in fermented chilli sauces that bring the heat and a mouthful of flavour in every drop.
Gavin’s interest is spicy food began as a teenager, but it was while travelling through Latin America that he developed a love and appreciation for chilli sauces.
“It was the small batch sauces that the grandmas were making in the street that hooked me,” says Gavin. “Yes, they were hot but there was so much more to it. They were full of flavour, a balance of smoke, sweet and sour that came along with the heat. I knew I wanted to recreate the same at home.”
As the former head chef of Ballarat’s renowned Pancho restaurant, Gavin is skilled at creating fresh Latin American cuisine, yet creating authentic style sauces in a shelf stable format presented a challenge.
“Most sauces in Mexico are fresh and uncooked, because they use them up in a day or two so they can afford to be unprocessed” says Gavin. “We can’t do that in Australia because of our food safety laws, and often the sauces we buy will have added acids and preservatives.
“I needed to fulfil the Australian standards, but it was essential to me that my sauces be as authentic and natural as I could make them. Fermentation is my way of achieving that as it allows me to bring the pH level of the sauce down to shelf stable without additives.”
Using 98% local ingredients, and chillis sourced from Queensland and overseas, Gavin created the first trio of Latin American style sauces and released them online in April 2023. Nearly 12 months on, Nomad Chilli Co sauces are stocked in over 30 stores around Australia, as well as selling online and the occasional pop-up market stall.
Gavin now has five sauces in the collection, using chillis ranging in heat from the milder jalapeno to a mid-level habanero and most recently, the notoriously hot reaper. Each sauce is given a rating out of 10 to guide customers into choosing the one that is right for them.
“I rate the Jalapeno Verde as a four and I think it’s a lovely entry level sauce for someone who is just starting to experiment with hot, spicy food,” says Gavin. “I recently released a sauce that I rate a 10, but by a lot of people’s standards it’s probably quite mild.
“I don’t think I’ll ever make a sauce so hot it makes you cry. There’s a place for those and I do enjoy them from time to time, but I want Nomad sauces to be a daily staple, for people to grab them and sue on their eggs or burritos, as a salad dressing or vegetable marinade.”
With the first sauce trio well established, Gavin has turned his attention closer to home, creating a new trio of sauces with a flavour profile inspired by Australia.
“I’m originally from Wales and when I moved to Australia 10 years ago, I discovered native flavours such as lemon myrtle and pepper berry – flavours that are completely foreign to us in the UK and I loved them. So now I’m working on chilli sauces that celebrate the Australian bush.”
The first sauce in Nomad’s Australian trio is watermelon and lemon myrtle hot sauce, and it’s already proved very popular.
“I did a small batch and took it to a pop-up market before Christmas to test among customers. It sold out that day, which was great to see. I’ve listed that one online and I’m currently working on the next two.
“The second sauce is cocoa, cherry and pepper berry. I see it as a dessert hot sauce that could be used over ice cream. That will be available mid-year.
“I haven’t started the third recipe, but my initial plans include sweet potato and apricots,” says Gavin.
With its fast-growing popularity around Australia, it’s no surprise that Nomad Chilli Co is starting to receive international attention.
“We’ve been approached by two competitions in north America and we are finalising our entries for those. I’m also aiming to compete for the first time at this year’s Royal Melbourne Show.
“But closer to home, what I’d like to do this year is attend a lot more markets. I want to meet people, talk to them directly about the sauces and hear their feedback. I really enjoy that but I haven’t had much chance to do it so far.”
While it may seem bizarre to have chilli sauces coming out of Ballarat, Gavin feels he’s in the right place.
“If you look at Ballarat over the last five years, the culinary scene has really expanded and some fantastic things are happening. Our restaurants among the best in the state. It’s a great time to be in the food space in this town.”
Nomad Chilli Co sauces are available online and from selected stockists. To make an order, find a store or learn more about becoming a stockist, visit the website. For news and information about Gavin’s next pop-up market stall, follow Nomad Chilli Co on Facebook or Instagram.
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