Firecracker Farm is family owned and operated in Palm City, Florida. From planting, growing, and harvesting their peppers, to developing, designing, and producing products, it’s all done one small batch at a time. It’s a handcrafted operation that handles with the care and enthusiasm that only a family business can.

Alex Bonamarte is the founder of Firecracker Farm, known for creating unique, hot pepper-infused salts that bring a fiery kick to any dish. With a passion for bold flavors and a dedication to quality, Alex developed his signature infused salts to elevate everyday cooking. Firecracker Farm’s products, crafted from carefully selected hot peppers and premium salts, along with a cool delivery push grinder system, have gained a loyal following among spice lovers and culinary enthusiasts. Under his leadership, Firecracker Farm has grown into a brand recognized for its innovative approach to seasoning, adding heat and depth to food in a fun, flavorful way.

Enjoyed having Alex on the podcast as we talked about this journey from Minnesota, New York , France and now Florida. Always finding a way to figure his next venture whether its food/art photography and design, web development and now growing hot peppers to infuse into salt for everyone. I’ve been cooking with his products for over a year now and honored to share his origin story.

FireCracker Farm

https://firecracker.farm

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Mark Melnick was born in Tokyo, Japan of Japanese and Polish/Ukrainian descent . At an early age, Mark learned the struggles of managing a business because his parents owned an export company. After graduating high school Mark came to the United States and studied business and accounting. A turn of events caused Mark to change careers and take a job as a beef exporter. It was an exciting time and a growing business. The beef trade was a hot button issue, overcoming many obstacles, including disease, BSE , duty taxes and many other parts of the business.

Trex Corp. was founded in 1996 by Mark and his business partner in the San Francisco Bay Area. Trex has been responsible providing quality service for exporting US meat products and importing some of the best Japanese Wagyu.

Mark goes into great detail about the Beef industry and talks about the many different farms Japanese Wagyu comes from and the care that goes into it giving the beef its wonderful flavor profiles.

Hope you enjoy our conversation and learn more about how complex the meat industry can be and in doing so providing a great product to meet customers needs. If you haven't tried Japanese Wagyu it's a must!

https://www.teamtrex.com/

Sponsored by FireCracker Farm
https://shop.firecracker.farm/?ref=FOODORIGINSPODC

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Andy Hung is a dedicated lifelong martial artist who has a wealth of knowledge in multiple fields. Andy was born and raised on the island of Oahu,Hawaii. Andy is a 2nd Degree Black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a 4th Degree Black belt in Judo. Andy is the founder and CEO of Dojo Outfitters where he sells his own brand of Martial Arts apparel and gear through his online store and brick & mortar shop in Portland, Oregon. Andy has owned academies PDXBJJ and Portland Judo which unfortunately closed due to the pandemic. Andy is also currently a defensive tactics certified instructor for law enforcement sharing his expertise with first responders.

Andy Hung is a phenomenal business man with a keen sense for operating successful businesses. Andy and I met through our mutual Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor, Mike Prudencio, owner of One world Jiu Jitsu.

While on our road trip through the Western States, I sat down with Andy on location at his beautiful shop Dojo Outfitters in Portland,Oregon.

We had a fun conversation about growing up in Hawaii, training martial arts, the food scene in all the places he’s lived and a short dive into his favorite distilled spirits and sustaining his business through tough times. Great advice and wise quotes dropped in this episode so be sure to listen all the way to the end!

Dojo Outfitters
https://www.dojooutfitters.com

Show Notes
https://www.foodoriginspodcast.com/podcast-episode-46

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