The Tennengau, the stretch of SalzburgerLand south of Salzburg city, runs on hay-milk Bergkäse from its alms and the salt pulled out of Dürrnberg above Hallein for the better part of a millennium, two traditions built on slow transformation and preservation. Trusted Origin, a craft producer in Oberalm run by Christian Strasser that ferments its sauces without vinegar, has taken a Silver Medal in Garlic Chili Sauce with Black Garlic's Honeymoon at the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 (heatawards.eu), Europe's flagship hot sauce competition.
Trusted Origin works as a small manufactory rather than a factory line, handcrafting in Salzburg and building its range around natural fermentation instead of acidified shortcuts. The brand's stated philosophy is flavour balance over heat for its own sake, and the current range runs from Black Garlic's Honeymoon through Liquid Sun, Boom Boom Berry and Piñacolava, plus a four-sauce flight under the Ultimate Chili Experience label. All produced under the Trusted Origin Foods brand from the Oberalm site.
Nathan Austin on Black Garlic's Honeymoon:
"On the label this reads as a chili sauce, on the ingredient list the honey is 30% and the habanero is 18%, so the dominant note is honey carrying fermented black garlic, with the heat sitting third. That inversion is the whole point of the build, and the panel scored it for what it is, not for chasing the heat ceiling in the category." – Nathan Austin, Tasting Editor, Republic of Heat
Black Garlic's Honeymoon took a Silver Medal in Garlic Chili Sauce: honey at 30%, fermented habanero at 18%, fermented garlic at 9%, no vinegar in the build. Trusted Origin describes it as a harmony of sweetness, umami and heat, with the black garlic carrying the umami and the habanero set behind the honey rather than out front. Maker-suggested uses run to finishing sauce for steak, burgers and ribs, glaze for chicken or salmon, and dip for roasted vegetables and bowls.
"Honestly still speechless. We make this in Oberalm, by hand, in small batches, and taking a Silver in Garlic from a blind European panel is hard to take in. Massive thanks to everyone who has been with us on this." – Christian Strasser, Trusted Origin
The European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 ran over 200 sauces from across the continent through blind tasting this year, scored on five criteria by a deliberately mixed panel of chefs, sommeliers, critics and chilli specialists. The Garlic Chili Sauce category drew 10 EU entries in 2026, a category where the producer has to keep the garlic legible against the heat profile rather than letting it disappear behind the chili.
"Garlic is one of the harder categories to land a podium in, because the producer has to hold the garlic register intact while still earning the chili-sauce shelf. Trusted Origin pushed that further by going vinegar-free, which strips one of the easier preservation crutches out of the build. We are watching closely for what Trusted Origin brings next." – Neil Numb, Founder, European Hot Sauce Awards
Black Garlic's Honeymoon is available through Trusted Origin at trusted-origin.at. Full EHSA 2026 results across all 16 categories: heatawards.eu/results/2026?utm_source=press_release&utm_medium=press&utm_campaign=ehsa2026&utm_content=trusted-origin.
PRESS RESOURCES Reveal videos on YouTube, embeddable: - Garlic Chili Sauce: https://youtu.be/7ATiV-ZJHU0 Press kit (photos, logos, AI lifestyle composites credited Republic of Heat / European Hot Sauce Awards 2026): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/188kb4PD1XxbFDYbQbxNSdKT7BzK-LnYF?usp=drive_link
ABOUT TRUSTED ORIGIN Trusted Origin is a craft chili sauce producer based in Oberalm, in the Tennengau region of SalzburgerLand, Austria, founded and run by Christian Strasser. The brand operates as a small manufactory, handcrafting in Salzburg with a stated focus on natural fermentation without vinegar. The range, including Black Garlic's Honeymoon, Liquid Sun, Boom Boom Berry and Piñacolava, is available at trusted-origin.at.
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN HOT SAUCE AWARDS The European Hot Sauce Awards (EHSA) is the professional competition for commercially produced hot sauces in Europe, run annually since 2024 from heatawards.eu. EHSA was born out of the Berlin Chili Festival, which has run since 2019 and returns 4–6 September 2026, and became an independent competition in 2024. Over 200 sauces from producers across the continent were entered in 2026. Entries are judged blind across five criteria: aroma, heat profile, flavour, creativity and finish. The 2026 edition covers 16 categories, with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals awarded across multiple positions in each. Each category also names a Best in Category, the top Gold. EHSA is run independently of any single producer or retailer.
ABOUT REPUBLIC OF HEAT Republic of Heat is a European hot sauce subscription designed to show off the flavours coming out of Europe and help solve the distribution problem independent makers face. Founded June 2025 in Berlin by Nathan "Naga" Austin and Simon "Scoville" Gardner. The Discovery subscription delivers three handpicked craft sauces plus a spicy extra to subscribers across the EU each month. Press partner of the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026. republicofheat.com.
PRESS CONTACT Press: Republic of Heat, on behalf of European Hot Sauce Awards contact@republicofheat.com +49 176 41601284
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