‘No effort too small that doesn’t make a difference on the road to success,’ says creative Anishinaabe chef

By Brian Wright-McLeod

TORONTO— Imagine being on a tropical island enjoying the spicy flavors and tangy heat of culinary condiments that spice up a dish. One doesn’t need a flight to far off locations when tempting tastes can be enjoyed at home.

The creative visions of Anishinaabe chef Charles Catchpole from Couchiching First Nation has been transporting taste buds with his hand-crafted hot sauces enjoyed by a diverse cross-section of clientele.

Since graduating from the restaurant management program at Loyalist College, Catchpole worked for a year in hospitals, and then emerged from the chef-training program at George Brown in 1997. Catchpole pursued his dreams derived from a number of influences.

“My dad was a chef and I decided to follow in his footstep,” he said. “When I was in high school, I had some friends from Mexico City, they were exchange students and they got me interested in Mexican cuisine and spices.”

From his varied inspirations and training, he found one major attribute that stabilized his successful business acumen.

“The majority of my knowledge comes from practical hands-on experience,” Catchpole said. “Aside from focusing on my hot sauces and condiments, I do a lot of catering for different Indigenous events. For catering, I rent a kitchen for all the preparation and cooking.”

His primary focus is Indigenous inspired condiments.

“For the hot sauces, I’ve been rolling it out famers’ market style,” he said. “I do my best to source natural good quality local produce. For example, the chilies I use comes from a farmer who grows them specifically for me. The Basil Bomb is probably my most popular product, and the pesto paste hot sauce, the ghost pepper sauce, Scorpion Chili jelly, sweet grass vinaigrette, sweet grass maple syrup, salad dressings, and other ingredients like cranberries and sage.”

Catchpole currently produces small batches in a licensed kitchen that he rents for the task.

“I’d like to increase the production to get my product into larger retail outlets,” he said.

Catchpole literally employs a hands-on approach.

“Everything’s done by hand from sterilizing the bottles, cooking the ingredients in large pots, pouring the product into the containers with funnels, and putting the labels on by hand,” he said.

It’s a labour of love that has produced tremendous results.

“The public response has been great over the years, at food shows, pop-up restaurants and Indigenous venues in Ontario and in the northern US states,” he said. “I have repeat customers who stock up on my product, knowing that they won’t see me for another year. For now, it’s just selling bottle-by-bottle direct to customers.”

The CharGer brand is also a family endeavor.

“My wife Germaine and I work side by side, and she creates a line of flavored jams,” he explained. “She went to culinary school and had to work in the Indigenous community. For her course, she learned to incorporate traditional ingredients.”

The business efforts are basic but successful.

“We sell everything at a standard price,” he pointed out. “The small bottles are $8 and the large are $14. Customers contact me by e-mail and I ship on request, but I don’t have an online store. Sales are direct to customers.”

Catchpole’s dreams are taking off in a very precise direction. And after many trials and errors both in the kitchen and in business, Catchpole has established a business philosophy that no dream too big or no effort too small that doesn’t make a difference on the road to success.