'For Pedro's Sake!' jalapenos named after friend who battled cancer

Bay Area business created in memory of man who battled cancer

Rich More was inspired to sell his candied jalapenos after a final conversation with a long-time friend.

TAMPA - Whether he's chopping jalapeños, cooking bacon or mixing spices, Rich More feels at home in a kitchen. 

"It's my outlet. This is what I do. I love to think about new flavors," More said. "I love the talk about food. I love to share it."

More and his two sons spend a couple days a month cooking up batches of different flavors of candied jalapenos. Flavors include cranberry, mango, ginger and bacon. They also sell chipotle sauces. More says candied jalapeno can go with anything. 

"They're more than a condiment. They're a compliment," More said. "You can put them in your salads and sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, pizzas. You can even put them in cocktails."

The big question, once you open the jar, is how spicy are they? More calls them "casually spicy."

"If we made them today and you ate them tomorrow, they're going to be just as hot as they were when they were raw," More said.  "If you give them a month, they'll be like on vacation, like when we were on vacation, they come back a lot more amenable, a lot more friendly, a lot more fun."

The backstory:

Around 10 years ago, More's wife suggested a recipe for candied jalapenos. After initially not wanting to make them, More's curiosity in the kitchen got the best of him. Those early batches were Christmas gifts to family and friends. Many people wanted More to sell the jalapenos. A close friend's request changed that. 

"Pedro's a buddy of mine. Went by Pete for years. His son and my son played hockey together forever. They were in travel hockey, so we were busy all the time together, always at the rink together. Pretty much seven days out of seven, we were hanging out," More explained. 

Pete was battling terminal colon cancer in 2018. Near the end, the friends had one final conversation. 

"We were having our last chat, probably three hours, about our boys, about everything, and out of the blue, he goes, 'bro, you need to sell your candied jalapenos'. I laughed, I'm like, you got to be kidding me. You got me, I can't say no to you. So, I said, sure, yeah, I'll do it, even though I told everybody no all the times before," More said. 

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Like the out of the blue nature of that request, the name "For Pedro's Sake" came to More while sitting on his couch about a month later. The logo of the company is Pedro's face.

What they're saying:

"We named it after him since he was the last one to give me a kick in the butt," More said. "I wouldn't have done it without him having done that to be honest."

The candied jalapenos and chipotle sauces are sold at a handful of markets in Tampa, including St. Pete's Saturday Morning Market, the farmers market in downtown Lakeland on Saturdays and the farmers market in Lakewood Ranch on Sundays. They can also be purchased online.

"To keep his memory, get to talk about him from time to time, it means everything. It keeps him alive," More said. "It's hard when your friends pass, but this keeps it going. He's not forgotten. He is always in my mind."

For more information, you can visit their website.