Peggy Hernandez for The Boston Globe
When they began packaging their piri piri hot sauce 12 years ago, Peter Mantas and Leslie Feingold used discarded water bottles and wine corks from Mázi, their New Jersey restaurant. The restaurant is gone but Mázi Piri Piri (8.75 ounces for $12.99 to $16.99) lives on. Mázi (pronounced maw-zee, it means “together” in Greek) is fiery without bitterness. It’s addictive as a condiment, or slathered on chicken before baking. African peppers are mixed with tomatoes, and then flavored with whiskey. Mantas developed the formula in homage to the ubiquitous piri piri sauces he tasted one summer in Portugal. He and Feingold, partners in business and life, make the sauce by hand three times a week in 150-bottle batches. They have turned down offers to grow the business. “I don’t want to get a lot of machinery and hire employees,” he says. “What I have is a great job and I enjoy it.” Mantas knows big time. He was the original manager for the rock band of his childhood friend Jon Bon Jovi. For the Super Bowl, the duo plan on making chicken wings with Mázi Piri Piri. Available at American Provisions, 613 East Broadway, South Boston, 617-269-6100; Formaggio Kitchen, 244 Huron Ave., Cambridge 617-354-4750, www.mazi401.com.
PEGGY HERNANDEZ
