In the Kitchen: Molly Fienning, Red Clay Hot Sauce
You may have heard of Molly Fienning in a myriad of ways—her fame in Charleston, her cute company Babiators, or her other, more delicious company, Red Clay Hot Sauce. The entrepreneur and advocate for women's leadership has a lot on her plate, so we were so honored when we were able to sit down and chat with Molly about how her career came to be. Enjoy!
When did you start Red Hot Clay Sauce and how did you start it?
In 2014, when I was dining at my favorite Charleston restaurant–an oyster bar called The Ordinary, I tried the original Red Clay Hot Sauce that my partner, James Beard restaurant Chef Geoff Rhyne, created to pair perfectly with oysters and seafood.
I wasn’t even a hot sauce fan at the time, and his Red Clay literally made me a hot sauce convert (and later hot sauce CEO…ha!). It was bright,complex, delicious, and added more flavor to my plate without too much heat. It was so good that it made me want to bring this delicious sauce to market, to share it with millions around the country–not sure a few restaurants around Charleston.
Geoff and I partnered and launched Red Clay a few weeks later, and I stepped in as CEO four years later to scale the business nationally. Since then, we’ve rolled out nationally to Whole Foods Market, Publix, the Fresh Market and regionally to Target (the Carolinas and Georgia). Food and Wine Magazine named us “Tabasco for the 21st century” because of the way we thoughtfully craft our sauces and source our ingredients.
It has been an incredibly wild, fun and educational ride. Now I eat one of our Red Clay sauces with food most days. Today, I slathered our new Southern Chili Crisp on my eggs at lunch. Sooo good.
What does it mean to you to be a leader of a female-founded, female-led company?
If I were to sell Red Clay or Babiators tomorrow, the rest of my life would be about supporting, mentoring, and championing female leaders–I know in my heart that this is my soul’s mission while I’m here (aside from loving on and raising my two wonderful boys).
Our world is hurting right now and would deeply benefit from more female-founded, female-led companies as women who lead often bring more of a focus on community, collaboration, authentic communication, and empathy. We’re on the threshold of a major paradigm shift in our country and world, and more women need to step into and own their deep power as a catalyst to make this shift happen. In business, we ALL need to think more about love, honor, kindness, our Earth, our communities/tribes, and a collective well-being than bottom-line profits to buy more stuff we don’t really need to be happy. I am all for living a beautiful, plentiful life with luxury, but there’s a diminishing margin of return on things, homes, yachts, and excessive consumerism that actually causes more unhappiness not less. Let’s use the beautiful Parisian closet as a metaphor here–fewer, finer. We need to return to the core fundamentals of capitalism and why it was created in the first place–to be a rising tide for all boats. I believe women can and should help lead the charge on this.
How do you juggle between RHCS and Babiators, your other company?
I am definitely more actively involved in the day-to-day of Red Clay, but always step in to help with Babiators when they need me. Babiators is a more mature and established company, so the team runs pretty independently of the founders at this point. Red Clay is still a high-growth baby business that needs all of our hands on deck. It is so fun and also LOTS of work.
What is your favorite thing about what you do?
I love meeting other female entrepreneurs who are also building amazing companies and supporting their businesses where I can through events at my home, sharing about their products, or jumping on a call with them to be helpful when I can. I also love being in the trenches with my amazing team, riding the crazy ups and downs of building a food & bev CPG business–and there are many!
What are your five best tips for organizing your kitchen?
Only buy things you absolutely love that make you happy
Consult a local expert for the initial organization of it all (whether it’s virtual, in-person or your favorite celebrity organizer’s book. I love Margaret from Sunday Plans here in Charleston.
Once things have their place, Murphy’s Law still hits over time. Twice a year, do a seasonal cleaning of your pantry and drawers
Invest in beautifully-made, delicious pantry staples like Jacobsen finishing salt, Brightland vinegars, Estepa Virgen Spanish olive oil – oh and Red Clay hot honey :)
Join a CSA to support local farmers and purveyors for your fresh produce and proteins (we buy from Community Supported Grocery out of Charleston)
What is your favorite sauce from Red Hot Clay Sauce?
I go through our new Southern Chili Crisp the most often out of everything we make. It has garlic chips and peanuts and highlights. It’s insane, and I use it every day for lunchtime. We’re currently sold out but taking requests for the next batch!
Name your three must-haves in the kitchen:
A high-quality, sharp knife, a Vitamix, and a beautiful nonstick pan. And can never forget good, salted butter.
What tips would you give to a newbie in the kitchen?
Start simple and make food that you genuinely love to eat. For inspiration, I love following some of my favorite Insta chefs to see what recipes make my mouth water, which I then crave and need to go replicate at home stat. A few faves are Molly Baz, Daphne Oz, Amanda Frederickson, and Romilly Newman.
Tips for cooks at home?
My Red Clay partner, Chef Geoff, taught me to buy as local and fresh as possible and keep meals simple to honor those beautiful ingredients.
Favorite recipe:
I make my delicious asparagus leek soup the most out of all my recipes, so I have to say that one! I love it for a light fresh lunch or as an appetizer for a dinner party. My boys drink it out of a mug, and I love that they’re getting nourishing vegetables.
Favorite recipe that includes a Red Hot Clay Sauce:
This easy breezy 3-ingredient DELICIOUS guacamole with our Red Clay Verde.