BREMERTON, Wash. — Does your family have a recipe you think would sell in stores?
Two sisters from Bremerton are proving it can be done with Frannie Mae’s Cha Cha Relish.
"As quick as we made these little jars right here? They'll be gone,” said Tonita Naylor, chef and co-owner of Frannie Mae’s Foods.
She runs the small business with her sister Nanette Hearns. They grew up eating Cha Cha at home and eventually took charge of making it for gatherings.
"It's just a family affair. Everybody knows the recipe that's in the family, but they don't want to make it - so they come to us. ‘Can we get a jar?’ ‘Do you guys have some cha cha?’" Naylor said. "Everybody wants it, everybody loves it, so we just said let's jar it up."
More than 60 years ago, their grandmother Emma invented Cha Cha to solve a flavor problem. Their grandfather was a vegetarian and wanted more spice in his life.
She created a vinegar-based vegetable relish with some kick, called Cha Cha. It works as a topping, dressing, or dip and compliments just about anything. It's also organic, gluten-free, and low in calories.
Of course, the sisters won't reveal the secret recipe.
"Oh no, my grandma would kill us,” Naylor said, laughing.
Instead, they are giving the world a taste by jarring the relish and selling it at small grocers.
Every batch is made from scratch, jarred and labeled by their own hands.
"I love to cook. I get joy out of it,” Hearns said. “And I think that's our whole family."
The name of their company honors their mother Frances Mae, whose face smiles warmly at customers from every label they print.
"Every time I look at this jar, I see my mom,” Hearns said. "I just wish she was here to see us and see what we have accomplished. And I know she would be proud of us."
One family's tradition, passed down for generations - now, passed on so other families can make their own memories.
Frannie Mae's Cha Cha Relish is available at Kitsap Community Food Co-op.
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