We were lucky to catch up with Miguel Cavanna recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Miguel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss? What did you learn from them? Maybe you can share a story that illustrates the kind of boss they were or maybe you can share your thoughts on what you think made them an awesome person to work for?

The Best Boss I Ever Had

yes, I sure had one, his name was Kurt Steilhak it was about 1972 in Washington DC, he was the Executive chef at the Washington Hilton Hotel where I was employed, I consider him a visionary and he provided me with some really good advice even though the advice went against the eras popular belief that one should stay with the same company for 35 years and then get the gold watch upon your Retirment.

He said to me, Mr. Miguel, I will advise you to take your talents and move around as much as possible further honing your cooking skills and developing additional communications skills adding more talents to your repertoire experience other ways of doing things, travel to different places and work in different environments and cultures as much as possible, the employment field will change significantly in the near future and he was absolutely right , I followed his advice and it worked really well for me, I traveled throughout the US, the Caribbean and Europe and learned a whole lot, knowledge that to this day I still use successfully, I will forever be grateful to him for his unconventional advice I was 17 at the time

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Salsa De Macho: A Journey of Passion and Quality

In 1990, Salsa De Macho was born, crafted with extra virgin olive oil, pure clover honey, elephant garlic, five types of fresh herbs, balsamic vinegar, and some of the finest ingredients available. I’m proud to say that to this day after thirty-four years, I continue to sell my product, now exclusively on my website www.chefcavanna.com and to original customers who have been with me from the very beginning.

Traveling around to promote the product opened up other doors for me. I began to get involved in the telecommunications industry by being invited to different TV shows, which further led me into the entertainment industry. Soon after, I was signed by a talent agent and embarked on an unexpected additional career in TV, radio, films, theatre, live culinary seminars, and even some politics.

But make no mistake about it—I will always be a chef with my own product, Salsa De Macho. I personally manufacture my product and categorically refuse to mass-produce it. I maintain strict limited production runs to ensure its quality and artisanal craftsmanship.

I’m excited to share that I’m getting involved with a European company that manufactures ecologically friendly food handling products such as bamboo cutlery, corn-based plates, sugar-cane cones, and beautiful lotus-shaped food carrying containers, among other comparable products. I’m truly looking forward to this partnership.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Salsa De Macho: A Legacy of Quality and Craftsmanship

Yes, I absolutely craft my own product myself. In the thirty-four years of Salsa De Macho’s existence, I have never allowed anyone or any plant to produce it for me. It has always been me, and the reason for that is that I want to control the quality as well as the artisanal craftsmanship and limited production. Very often, when you give up control of production, the quality suffers due to a lack of detail. In my case, as I have said in the past, when Chef Cavanna croaks, my product will go with me because nobody does it or will do it like I do!

When I first started in 1990/91, I had no clue how to market it, so I did the commonsense thing and knocked on doors. I first started selling the homemade product at the Eisenhower Flea Market in San Antonio, TX. Next, a specialized gourmet store called Farm to Market picked up the product and began selling it there, where it was a hit. Then, I went to Austin to check out a store called “WHOLE FOODS MARKET” on South Lamar and 8th Street. In those days, you made a deal with a handshake. All they wanted to know was if the product was clean, meaning free of any chemicals and preservatives, and of course, it was and still is. In those days, the original Whole Foods Market was run by old hippies who had a total sense of pride in the products they brought in. I must say it was a very positive and pleasant experience.

After that, I began to travel around the country, hitting every chili pepper show/event that I could attend. One thing led to another, and without realizing it, I was marketing my product. I placed an ad in Chili Pepper Magazine and began getting orders from all over. Another move that helped me expand into an international market was placing my product in the San Antonio International Airport in a store called “Wines and Roses.” Obviously, travelers were interested in the product and began to take it to their respective countries as a souvenir and to consume. Then, I started getting orders from Mexico, Spain, Italy, England, Pakistan, and so on. I attribute that to the sales at the SA International Airport exposure, for nobody knew the product otherwise. After that, gourmet stores around the country began to discover the product and carry it in their stores. Now, in 2024, I only strictly sell the product via my website www.chefcavanna.com.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A Necessary Pivot: The Evolution of Salsa De Macho

When I first introduced my product to the market, I definitely had to pivot. Originally, Salsa De Macho was designed to be sold fresh. However, due to my lack of experience in the industry, I neglected to consider shelf life and the fact that a product that needs to be refrigerated is hard to market and handle. As a result, I had to begin cooking my salsa, and it has been done the same way now for the last 34 years.

However, just for me, every time I run a batch, I usually set aside a couple of gallons of the “fresh” uncooked product for my own enjoyment. There are a few very old customers who are willing to pay the extra-large fees to have it delivered fresh. Shipping fresh foods is extremely expensive, but for some, money is no object. I remember once a client who was sailing the Mediterranean ordered a case of Salsa De Macho and had it shipped to Spain. In the end, the shipping cost five times the cost of the product, but it made him happy. I guess it’s nice to have money to burn.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chefcavanna.com
• Instagram: salsademacho
• Facebook: miguel cavanna
• Linkedin: miguelcavanna@yahoo.com
• Twitter: miguelcavanna@yahoo.com
• Youtube: miguel cavanna
• Yelp: chef cavanna international foods

Image Credits

Miguel Cavanna