(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 21, 2011 ) Wyckoff, NJ -- A love for cooking, flavor and all things spicy has led Johnny McLaughlin of Heartbreaking Dawns Artisan Foods to what he does best, creating the absolute top-shelf in all-natural Hot Sauces, Dry Rubs, Preserves and Seasonings. Who thought that this passion for fiery condiments would grant him the opportunity to compete alongside classically trained NYC chefs? With an arsenal of top-notch sauces, including the 1498 and Cauterizer (featuring the New WORLD'S HOTTESTTrinidad Scorpion Pepper,) Heartbreaking Dawns have already carved out there place in the world of fiery foods.
Johnny is a self trained chef with a rather unique perspective on the culinary arts.
"My background is in Literature and Visual Arts, but I always loved food and adventurous cooking. As I started getting more into my dishes, technique and creating sauces I realized that the journey and reward I was was experiencing in cooking was very similar to the journey of my artwork. I knew that cooking was the medium I was looking for. It soon became even more satisfying than the visual arts. There is an interactive element that comes along with food that is never truly reached with painting. I remember doing gallery events, and people would look at the work and you could never really know what was going on in their heads. But with cooking you can embrace color, texture, flavor, scent, appearance.... and then, the minute you put that spoon in someone's mouth something magical happens. You join someone else and someone joins you in that journey and it becomes an interactive adventure. And like any medium you have specialties or genres, mine is fiery foods and condiments, specifically Hot Sauce," stated Johnny McLaughlin.
Johnny officially started Heartbreaking Dawns with his wife, Nicole, a bit over two years ago although it had been in the developmental stages for over a year prior to that. Like other small food ventures it started with a garden and a love for all things spicy. The two were making sauces non-stop, mainly for fun and sharing them with friends and family. As they were bottling up sauces and putting fun labels on them so they looked like a "real" product, a friend suggested participating at a local church event. They showed up and set up a booth and the response was phenomenal. Shortly thereafter, following a lot of research, more events and refining, Heartbreaking Dawns was born.
So how does this all tie in with on-site cooking and getting to compete as a chef? Well just ask Johnny what his favorite part of owning one of the top new fiery foods companies is?
"It's showing people how to use my products, all of our creations stand on their own and are amazing as is, but when you incorporate them into your own creations...that is when the magic happens. The best part of this business is being live, in front of people and cooking. Coming up with new and inventive ways to use our products in everyday cooking. We can be found doing cooking demos all year round. I'll come up with some new recipes that feature our products and then we take them to demos and online videos. It's the second step of the process. A condiment is great, but what's even greater is taking what I made and showing everybody else some of the amazing things that THEY can make with it. It's just another tier of the interactive process," continued McLaughlin.
Coming up with delicious recipes using your own line of products must sound like a dream job to some. And getting to do it all with someone you love must only make it better. It was Nicole (Johnny's wife) that took the initiative to get the Chopped thing going. She had seen that they were casting again and went ahead and started the contact/application process while her husband was away on business. Before she even had chance to tell him about the submission, he was already contacted by the Chopped Casting team.
"The experience was awesome. I believe that cooking should be fun, the kitchen should be a fun place to be, the entire journey of bringing a dish to life should be an exciting experience no matter what the conditions are," concluded McLaughlin.
As you most likely know, we cannot tell you any more about Johnny's upcoming episode. But make sure to check it out on January 3rd at 10PM EST on the Food Network.
And of course be certain to check out Heartbreaking Dawn's full line of all-natural artisan sauces. They have an awesome selection of award winning Hot Sauces, Chutney Preserves, Dry Rubs and Grilling Sauces. Their reviews are wonderful and their hands-on and very personal approach to business is rather unique. Everything, according to their labels, is crafted with a "precision and love we know you'll be able to taste."
Heartbreaking Dawns is Hudson Valley and Tri-State's premiere producer of all-natural hot sauce, dry rubs, preserves and grilling sauce. As an independently owned and operated company, we pride ourselves on bringing you the best in artisan fiery condiments. Each batch of Heartbreaking Dawns gourmet products is crafted with a precision and a love that we know you'll be able to taste.
Heartbreaking Dawns: searing passion, sensory seduction.
(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 21, 2011 ) Wyckoff, NJ -- A love for cooking, flavor and all things spicy has led Johnny McLaughlin of Heartbreaking Dawns Artisan Foods to what he does best, creating the absolute top-shelf in all-natural Hot Sauces, Dry Rubs, Preserves and Seasonings. Who thought that this passion for fiery condiments would grant him the opportunity to compete alongside classically trained NYC chefs? With an arsenal of top-notch sauces, including the 1498 and Cauterizer (featuring the 
