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Red Clay Hot Sauce

Charleston, SCBrand · Food and drink

You don’t become a restaurant darling by accident. It all began with a chef’s signature hot sauce—so good diners were swiping it from the table. The Chef Behind the Scenes Chef Geoff Rhyne grew up in the red clay fields of Georgia, where his reverence for Southern foodways truly took root. As chef de cuisine at an acclaimed Charleston, South Carolina, restaurant, R&D for a new oyster dish gave way to his signature creation: a Fresno hot sauce intended to gently complement, never overpower. A riff on an old family recipe, the sauce took off, and Geoff couldn’t replenish it fast enough—some diners were even swiping it from the table. A Hot Commodity That same summer, Molly Fienning encountered this urban legend of the Charleston culinary scene. Full-bodied with a subtle heat, the sauce took each bite to new heights, deepening her dish without setting it aflame. By the end of the meal, Molly was fighting the urge to slide the bottle into her bag, too. A lightbulb went off, and within a year, she and Geoff had partnered to bring Red Clay to tables across the country—no thievery required.