just the two of us
We're just a couple of people who are stoked about fermentation, committed to uplifting our local food system, and who really, REALLY love good food.
JACK + nICKI mOORE
oWNERS, FOUNDERS
Our Story
Chef Jack Moore launched his culinary career in Columbus, Ohio. He concluded his long stint of running restaurants, most recently as Executive Chef for Watershed Kitchen + Bar, where the establishment earned a Top 5 dining destination for each year Jack was at the helm.
While restaurants were shut down in 2020, Jack finally had the time and bandwidth to reflect on his expertise as a chef, considering what the future held. Though he was committed to getting the restaurant reopened, he knew that his next step was creating something of his own.
“Black Cap”
Before long, prototypes of fermented hot sauce started making their way into hands of friends and family. In the final stages of recipe development, blind taste tests were conducted with unmarked bottles, one with a white cap and one with a black cap. When requests started to flood back in for “Black Cap,” we knew we had something special, and stuck with that name.
In early 2021, the first bottle of Black Cap Hot Sauce was sold at the Watershed Distillery bottle shop. In 2023, his wife, Nicki, quit her job and joined in the fun. They remain the only two employees, from processing peppers, working farmers markets, shipping online orders, and everything in between.
Our Mission
“Preserving a culture” our mission, and that goes beyond preserving the live probiotic culture in the sauce. It extends to sustainability practices, like sourcing local ingredients, composting all food waste, using recyclable glass bottles and metal caps, and amplifying the benefits of fermented foods and a balanced microbiome. Our living culture, small batch ferments reflect our local agricultural system, supporting local farmers and sharing our collective food journey with you.
We make hot sauce that is not only delicious, but good FOR us, too. Our 100% natural ingredients are fermented in ridiculously small batches, bottled by hand, and delivered or snagged at a partner restaurant or retailer near you.