SAUCE BOSS
Transitioning from airman to civilian left Felix “Sauce Boss” Irving feeling something was missing. He no longer had his brothers in arms to laugh and work with. There was a lack of a mission. Looking back on his childhood in Louisiana, food was always at the center of Irving’s life. From his parents to great grandparents, he learned how to cook. “My momma always said her son needed to be able to fend for himself. I was raised to cook and clean and everything in between.” But there was an even deeper lesson there. Irving began to see the way food brings people together.
Becoming the Sauce Boss
With a large group of friends and family in town to celebrate his wedding, Irving found himself with all of the meat ready to cook but no sauce. He turned to Google and discovered he only had half the ingredients to make his own. The solution to his problem? Do what any good New Orleans boy would do: make it up. “All my friends knew I loved bourbon, and I got a lot of bottles as a gift,” Felix laughed. “I needed to ‘church it up’ so I finished the sauce off with a splash of Bourbon for a blessing.” By the time the weekend was over the newlyweds found themselves with no leftovers and an overwhelming demand to know where he bought the sauce.
All my life I would trust The Vibe and it never failed me.
Trust the Vibe
That weekend sparked an inspiration. “All my life I would trust The Vibe and it never failed me,” he reflected. “I was getting a vibe (and a nudge from my wife) I needed to make the sauce.” After several weekends of trial and error with his wife Amber, the couple finally settled on the recipe and Beard-BQ sauce was born. As he’d meet people who heard about the sauce through word of mouth, it became clear that this Vibe was paying off. Beard-BQ was more than a weekend success and a few jars for friends. Felix began selling his sauce at area vendor shows like Kountry Junkin and can now be spotted at the Black Hills Farmers Market in addition to his online sales. “I just love meeting people,” answered Felix when asked what he enjoyed most about his business. He can be found at his booth talking, laughing and sharing tips, tricks and recipes. “I was able to share tips with one guy who was so excited about his brand new smoker…and the very next show he came back to tell me all about the tips he learned from me!” Felix found vendor shows to be a great way to get the word out, but the Farmers Market is where he feels at home. “There are local ranchers selling meat and Beard-BQ is the perfect compliment to that…it’s my real tie to the community.”
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