BBQ restauarant has asked me 3x for my sauce recipe.

[belfpala]

Just my recipe.... but I NEVER use tomato paste. And I would never even think of liquid smoke. I use Heinz ketchup as a base, and only Heinz. For the smokey flavor, I either add chipotles or I actually smoke it in my smoker. I use a hickory / apple blend. Sometimes I do both.

There's nothing scary about liquid smoke. I actually make my own.

[VeganHunter]

BTW, true story.... not kidding or lying even a little bit here.

I am a mobile DJ. Maybe 5 years ago I attended a DJ convention in Las Vegas. I had a friend who worked for Fed EX or UPS.... Anyway, she wanted some of the sauce, but she lives in North Dakota, and I live on the east coast.She was attending the convention, too. So, she sent me a voucher to ship the sauce to Las Vegas. I sent about 24 bottles, planning to give them away to DJ friends I knew from all over the country, via internet forums.

To make this story short... I had a bottle in my hand that I was going to give to give to a buddy. I was walking through the hallways of The Riviera, when Freedom Williams walked by. ( Google him if you don't know him ) He had just performed at the the DJ convention, as did Tone Loc. I was in the VIP section drinking with Freedom not 45 minutes earlier. ( My buddy was a sponsor of the convention and gave me VIP tickets. I am not VIP worthy, LOL ). Anyway, I handed the jar of sauce to Freedom Williams, and thanked him for the performance and the booze. He took the sauce, thanked me, and left.

At about 5 AM, the phone rings in my room. It is someone who worked for Freedom Williams. He said Freedom wanted to buy FIVE GALLONS of sauce for keeping at his home. The guy sent up a business card to my room with contact info. I agreed to do it, but told them I needed to figure out pricing, as I had never made a batch like that..... So, when I got home for the convention, I priced it out. My cost for materials was about $15 a gallon, and that did not include labor. I called the guy back, and gave him a price. He told me that Freedom "Loved that fuckin' sauce, man. He had me go to the store and buy chips to dip into it when we were in Vegas."

Well, I never heard from them after that, and I even called back a second time.

[Hooked]

Man, trade for one meal a week until they go out of business or whatever. Or the sauce has to have your name on it. "VeganHunter's Berry Chipotle BBQ Sauce"

If you called it that, no one would buy it. No BBQ eater will buy something that says vegan anywhere on the bottle.

[belfpala]

If you called it that, no one would buy it. No BBQ eater will buy something that says vegan anywhere on the bottle.

ORGANIC SOIL-FED NON-GMO NO HORMONES NO ANTIBIOTICS NO ANIMALS HARMED BBQ SAUCE*

*for your tasty beef, pork, or chicken of choice.

[Hooked]

ORGANIC SOIL-FED NON-GMO NO HORMONES NO ANTIBIOTICS NO ANIMALS HARMED BBQ SAUCE*

*for your tasty beef, pork, or chicken of choice.

Whenever I read anything with organic in the label, an unwashed Woodstock hippy is the image I get in my head. I don't want Woodstock hippies messing with my food.

[belfpala]

Whenever I read anything with organic in the label, an unwashed Woodstock hippy in a vw bus is the image I get in my head. I don't want Woodstock hippies messing with my food.

Heh. Nothing wrong with the label "Organic" in its various forms, but I prefer to know farmers directly. There are many that exceed any existing standard, but can't afford or are otherwise unable to become certified.

[Daethz]

If its really that good, you could make a business out of it.
And then eventually just make him a partner and allow him to use your sauce, lol.

Test it on friends and family, see if they love it.
Then i suppose you need to figure out if its already patented or something.

[belfpala]

Then i suppose you need to figure out if its already patented or something.

Again, you can't patent a recipe. You can copyright your description of it. You can trademark your naming of it. The ingredients themselves will never be protected except by trade secret.

[Calfredd]

Again, you can't patent a recipe. You can copyright your description of it. You can trademark your naming of it. The ingredients themselves will never be protected except by trade secret.

Is it wrong that for most of my young life I thought the reason items listed their ingredients was because they were letting you have a chance to make them yourself instead of it being for allergy concerns?

[belfpala]

Is it wrong that for most of my young life I thought the reason items listed their ingredients was because they were letting you have a chance to make them yourself instead of it being for allergy concerns?

Yes, you were. In the US at least. Good luck figuring out "natural and artificial flavors".

You can use the label as a guide for many products though. For example, with a bit of math and access to a couple things you probably don't have at home, you can make something like Gatorade exactly like the product.

[Zenotetsuken]

Maybe he wants to taste YOUR sauce if you know what I mean.

[Gheld]

I just bought some organic locally sourced no artificial preservatives finishing sauces at the local farmers market today. Effin amazing. 7.50 per with a bulk buy discount, which I mean, if you go to a supermarket, anything with the word organic on it costs at least 10 dollars above it's actual value because suckers.

And then I walked over to a meat farmer's table, and bought some bison steak. And then I went home and made lunch.

It didn't taste better because it was organic mind you, it tasted better because it was really amazing sauce, and the bison was incredible. And buying local feels good in the soul :P

[Rotesbart]

If you've ever heard of the (midwest USA mostly) home improvement chain Menards, there's an interesting semi-related anecdote.
All their commercials use a song played on a banjo. The guy who wrote and performed it got paid a $50 flat fee and has had to listen to it for like 55 years; regretting it the whole time.

If you do cave, at least get some kind of back end %, not just some flat fee.

[belfpala]

It didn't taste better because it was organic mind you, it tasted better because it was really amazing sauce, and the bison was incredible. And buying local feels good in the soul :P

That's what I was saying above. "Organic" blah blah. How about, I've been to this guy's farm, I've seen how he operates, and if I get on the phone to see if he can provide a few cuts of bison by Friday and he says sure... I'd rather give him my business than anyone else.

(I'll make my own damn sauces though, thanks. )

[Gheld]

That's what I was saying above. "Organic" blah blah. How about, I've been to this guy's farm, I've seen how he operates, and if I get on the phone to see if he can provide a few cuts of bison by Friday and he says sure... I'd rather give him my business than anyone else.

(I'll make my own damn sauces though, thanks. )

Yeah but like we already covered, depending on the base, home made sauce can be pretty expensive. :P

[Deleted]

Ask for a percentage of the profit of the sauce, patent it and make him sign a contract with you that the recipe may only be used for commercial use by him, that you are the owner and allow him to use your recipe, that there are only two people who may make the sauce, you and him, that he isn't allowed to make a variation on your sauce without your permission and that he may only sell that variation if it doesn't interfere with your sales and again, with your consent (making sure that for every variation on your sauce he has to pay you a percentage of the profits of that variation). This is, obviously, if you want to sell it.

I agree with the above with the inclusion of getting an ATTORNEY that specializes in this field. Doing it yourself will probably *spill* disaster.

EDIT: If you're serious about this, I'd recommend doing some real research at your local library and internet before contacting legal advise. Better to be prepared and know what you want instead of being told 'what's best'.

[belfpala]

Yeah but like we already covered, depending on the base, home made sauce can be pretty expensive. :P

(restaurant business).

I have trouble scaling between home and not-home recipes sometimes. Oh yeah so for this 5 gallon bucket we need two pounds of onions... and.. oh wait. Home. Um, maybe one small onion? I don't fucking know.