This summer, we hit the road with a mission: to determine the next CEP hot sauce in celebration of our 10th anniversary in 2027.
Armed with three mystery sauces, our team stopped at golf tournaments from Vancouver to Halifax. Clients and partners took part in a blind taste test, with no flavour names, no clues, just their taste buds. They then voted for their favourite sauce and were given the opportunity to suggest a creative name for CEP’s next signature hot sauce for a chance to win an exciting prize.
The result? Hundreds of tastings, plenty of (very) friendly debates, and over 500 creative name suggestions. Now, it’s time to reveal the big winners!
The Grand Prize Winners 🏆
Drumroll, please…
Two names, one great play on words, and we’re sure people will be talking about them for a long time. Out of 569 submissions, yours rose to the top!
Congratulations to Denis Duchesne and Jordan Abrams, who each receive a $500 Visa gift card and a selection of CEP hot sauces. Plenty to enjoy, and a little shopping on the side!
The Winning Flavours
Here’s a twist: French-speaking and English-speaking participants did not agree on their favourite sauce!
Among French-speaking participants, the turquoise sauce emerged as the clear favourite, capturing 47% of the vote. Meanwhile, English-speaking participants favoured the yellow sauce, which earned 41% of the vote.
Clearly, taste buds don’t all speak the same language.
Honourable Mentions
Some submissions didn’t make it to the podium, but they certainly made the team laugh: Jalapeño Business, Kick in the Verde, Mean Green Hot Sauce Machine, For Heat’s Sake, Lime and Punishment, Exhibit A: HOT, Burn Evidence, Forensic Fire.
Highlights From the Tour
- In Vancouver, one golfer made an incredible shot immediately after tasting our sauces. We can’t say the sauce was responsible… but we can’t rule it out, either!
- In Edmonton, one participant poured the tasting samples a little too enthusiastically. There was hot sauce on the participant, on the table, and just about everywhere else.
- In Calgary, one participant enjoyed the sauces so much that they asked if they could take home an entire case.
- In Montreal, one participant told us: “Several holes later, we were still talking about them and wished we could go back and try them again.”
- In the Maritimes, golfers nicknamed us the “Hot Sauce Guys.” We proudly wore that title all summer long.
- In Nova Scotia, one event organizer stopped by our booth regularly. We originally thought it was part of checking in on exhibitors, but as it turned out, they just couldn’t get enough of the sauces.
- Across the country, golfers came to claim their bottle as soon as they arrived, worried there might not be any left when they returned. Smart thinking!
Thank You for Participating!
Whether you tasted, voted, submitted a name, or simply stopped by to chat with our team, thank you for helping make the Great Taste Test a success.
We gathered valuable feedback, met incredible clients, and shared great moments from coast to coast.
The next CEP hot sauce will carry a little bit of all of you with it.
See you in 2027 for the launch of Sauce exCEPtionnelle / exCEPtional Sauce! 🌶️