Louisiana’s Bayou Gotham Hot Sauces makes National and International Hot Sauce History
Louisiana Native, Hot Sauce Legacy Scott Bellina of Bayou Gotham Hot Sauces Sweeps the 2024 Scovie Hot Sauce Awards with a History Making Win Making Bayou Gotham the #1 Choice by top culinary judges
(January 2024 — Louisiana) In an unprecedented 28-year history breaking win, Bayou Gotham, producer of award-winning artisanal hot sauces, blending flavors from New Orleans and New York City, has achieved a remarkable seven total honors at the 2024 Scovie Awards Competition — including the unprecedented distinction of claiming the two coveted Grand Prizes for both Best Hot Sauce Tasting and Best Advertising Marketing. The victory represents both national and international grand prize/first-place status for Bayou Gotham against 1,011 entries nationally and internationally.
The 2024 Scovie Awards Competition was judged by a panel of top culinary experts. This marks the first time in the 28-year history of the Scovie Awards organization that one entrant has taken home the two Grand Prize awards in both the flagship culinary competition focused on hot sauce taste, along with sweeping the advertising and brand creative category as well. Mark Masker, producer of the Scovie Awards, said “The 2024 Scovie Awards Competition had 1,011 entries with entries represented from 33 states in the U.S. and 8 additional countries, including England, Hungary, Germany, Canada, and Australia. Products are judged on the following criteria, Appearance, Aroma, Texture, Originality, Flavor, and Overall Impression.”
Held annually by the governing body behind the National Fiery Foods & BBQ Show, the Scovie Awards are widely regarded as the “Oscar Awards” of the rapidly growing craft hot sauce and spicy foods industry attracting hundreds of entries each year from seasoned artisanal makers and mass market leaders alike.
Bayou Gotham’s historic performance at this year’s judging saw the artisanal small-batch brand capture two Grand Prizes along with five additional Category First, Second, and Third Place wins:
Grand Prize Winner — Hot Sauce Tasting
Bayou Gotham’s Flambeau Fiya Caribbean Creole Hot Sauce took top honors in the coveted Hot Sauce Tasting Competition for its transportive fusion of New Orleans’ Caribbean soul with its Mardi Gras traditions—showcasing Scotch Bonnet and Cayenne peppers paired exquisitely with tropical fruits such as guava, citrus, ginger and spices.
Grand Prize Winner — Advertising & Marketing
Bayou Gotham also secured the coveted advertising grand prize recognizing marketing creativity — a rare feat for brands under five years old. From logo and label design to complete branded product line — the judges felt Bayou Gotham built a holistic brand identity that cut through the noise.
1st Place Winner — Fruit Based Hot Sauce Category
Guava, Orange, Lemon, and Lime along with Scotch Bonnet, Cayenne, Turmeric and Ginger drive the tropical flavor dimension of Flambeau Fiya Caribbean Creole landing the coveted first place position in one of the competition’s largest categories.
1st Place Winner — Matching Product Line Category
The full family look and feel spanning Bayou Gotham's hot sauce varieties, dry seasoning rub and merchandise reflects the creative heritage of founder Scott Bellina and his partnership with LSU Design classmate Scott Hodgin of Tilt Design in Baton Rouge.
1st Place Winner — Product Label Design Category
Vibrant colors and evocative narratives on each hand-etched bottle label immerses consumers in the cultural stories behind every variety.
2nd Place Winner — World Beat Hot Sauce Category
Fusing aromatic Sichuan peppercorns of Chinatown with the blistering heat of habanero chilies from the Latin Lower East Side — Zing Dynasty Sichuan Habanero also scored among top global fusion flavors.
3rd Place Winner — Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce Category
With a defiant twist melding barrel-aged bourbon and cayenne peppers, Ruby Rebelle Bourbon Cayenne still stays true to Bayou Gotham’s classic Louisiana roots.
The unprecedented two Grand Prize win performance along with dominance across five other hot sauce style and design categories demonstrates Bayou Gotham's commitment to excellence — from the strategic vision around merging traditional Cajun cuisine with global influences right on through package design and consumer experience.
This superior showing at the 2024 Scovie Awards Competition also illustrates the mainstream market viability a relative newcomer brand like Bayou Gotham can achieve through precision focus on authenticity, product quality and customer-centricity.
The Future is Bright & Flavorful for Bayou Gotham Following Scovie Award Sweep
From a business perspective, Scott Bellina, founder and chief hot sauce chef of Bayou Gotham, indicates that it is thrilling that a Louisiana brand has captured both national and international first-place status marking a historical feat in the hot sauce category. Bellina believes it may positively impact sales, especially online sales for the holidays at BayouGotham.com, Amazon, CajunCrate.com, and CreoleFood.com, and drive awareness to Bayou Gotham, especially in his home state of Louisiana, as a national contender in the craft, artisanal hot sauce industry with mass market aspirations.
Founded in 2019 by New Orleans native Scott Bellina, an LSU graduate and third-generation hot sauce maker, Bayou Gotham is still in its early stages as Bellina himself progresses from graphic designer and creative director to full-fledged fiery foods entrepreneur.
Bellina, an LSU graduate, grew up in New Orleans, has also called New York City home for over 20 years. Bayou Gotham remains committed to honoring his family’s hot sauce legacy as the grandson of Crystal Hot Sauce’s Roger Baumer, brother of company founder Alvin Baumer, while also paying tribute to his grandparents, Mike and Virginia Bellina of Bellina’s Grocery in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
The handcrafted sauces and dry rubs also celebrate Bellina’s adopted home through fusions of iconic Louisiana and NYC cuisine influences, from Cajun to Creole, Caribbean to Asian.
This injection of Bellina’s passion for the culture behind hot sauce combined with an uncompromising vision on flavor has fueled Bayou Gotham’s rapid rise, amassing over 15 awards across 6 product launches in just under four years. From those first test batches of his Bayou Bourré crawfish boil sauce simmering on an his stove-top to sweeping categories at the 2024 Scovie Awards — peer and expert recognition continues accelerating, including:
· 7 2024 Scovie Awards (2 Grand Prize wins) — National Fiery Food & BBQ Show
· 2 Screaming Mi Mi Award Trophies + 2 finalist medals — NYC Hot Sauce Expo
· 2 ZestFest Fiery Foods Challenge wins — ZestFest Dallas/Ft. Worth
· 6 additional best-in-class awards among the hot sauce community’s most discerning groups of fiery foods experts and enthusiasts such as the Sauce King NYC Awards
Rather than rest on its laurels, Bayou Gotham views this accelerating industry peer recognition as further motivation. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to even the earliest renditions of recipes like the flagship Bayou Bourré Louisiana Boil hot sauce first created in Bellina’s cramped NYC apartment because he missed crawfish season, then tweaked meticulously alongside professional copackers — spotlights the universal appeal of marrying culinary passion with an entrepreneurial drive to never settle for anything but the best.
It becomes abundantly clear upon tasting the handcrafted flavor brilliance found in every variety and speaking with Scott Bellina that Bayou Gotham remains laser-focused on perfecting craft hot sauce experiences transported straight from his beloved hometown to share with fiery food fans everywhere.
Judging by Bellina’s unrelenting obsession with innovation excellence and the accelerating string of awards lining the Bayou Gotham shelves... greater heat indeed lies ahead!
Bayou Gotham Hot Sauces are available at BayouGotham.com and Amazon.com. Bayou Gotham is proudly available at Rouses Supermarkets, Calandro’s Supermarkets, NuNu’s Fresh Markets and many independent grocers across Mississippi and the Gulf Coast.
