Friends of Ham, Fika North, Honest Burgers and Double D's Hot Sauce have all collaborated with this sauce company this year.
Starting from humble beginnings, Thiccc Sauce is one of our favourite lockdown success stories from Leeds.
Since beginning the sauce company, founder Luca has collaborated with some incredible Leeds talent, including the likes of Friends of Ham, Little Bao Boys, the Savvy Baker, as well as gaining national clients that all want a taste of hot sauce.
Sauces are available for personal use and as giant corporate bottles for mass production. / Image: Thiccc Sauces
Over the last eighteen months, variations of sauces have been repeatedly limited to small batches and sometimes a purchase maximum of one per person- these Thiccc Sauces have been in hot demand.
It all started for Luca in May 2020, when the founder was bored and hibernating in their mum's kitchen, 'until everything blew over, which it didn't'.
Image: Thiccc Sauce
Earlier this year, founder Luca shared the recipe for success so far on Instagram, explaining:
"Previous to starting the project, my love of hot sauce & BBQ sauce came from working in hospitality for 10 years & travelling the east and west coast of America over the years.
I always wanted to put together a combination of the love of sauce & beer from an industry i love into my very own product & then was born Thiccc Sauce.
"What started with 5 bottles of unlabelled, waxed scotch bonnet hot sauce sold over Instagram, then grew and grew to being able to work with some of the best Northern foodies, venues and brands to where we are today, back in lockdown #fullcircle".
Hot sauce with packaging designed by artists around the UK. / Image: Thiccc Sauce
The sauce maker isn't just championing restaurants and bars across Leeds, but uses talent from the city and across the UK to design each bottles' unique design. So far, some of Thiccc Sauces' greatest designs have come from the likes of Drew Millard, Stuart Allen, Bobbi Abbey.
As the year comes to a close, the sauce giant has collaborated with Bundobust, Neon Cactus, Mozzafella, North Brew Co and more, which all come from an original Thiccc Sauce base. Nowadays, there are a range of fast-selling sauces available, including a recent restock of a collaboration with Fika North: Lagöm.
Thiccc Sauce X Fika North. / Image: Thiccc Sauce
The collaboration is all about championing local and international flavours with their Lagöm Lingonberry Hot Sauce. Lagöm meaning “just the right amount, in balance” in Swedish, and contains just the right amount of freshly squeezed Lingonberries, Lingonberry Jam, habanero chilli, bell red pepper, tomato, red wine vinegar, maple syrup and spices.
So what can we expect from the delicious sauce makers in 2022? Luca said:
"I’ve recently just moved into a huge warehouse space in Sheepscar so production will be increasing in 2022 along with loads more exciting collabs and sauces"- we can't wait to hear which.
Thiccc Sauce is available at plenty of foodie pop ups too. / Image: Thiccc Sauce
To get your hands of some of the best sauces in Leeds, you can visit their website or Instagram page, or you can find their sauce in person at Bottle Chop in Headingley, amongst other stockists.
Feature Image- Thiccc Sauce
Leeds
Five of the most exciting new openings coming to Leeds city centre this year
We're basically half way through the year, so let's see what else we've got to look forward to...spoiler alert, it's a lot.
So far we've had everything from ice bath cafes to listening bars open up in Leeds, and it seems like 2026 is the gift that keeps on giving.
Allow us to get you excited about what's coming to the city...
Dishoom
68–78 Vicar Lane, LS1 7JH
Images: The Hoot Leeds
This one is a biggun' as the ever so popular Indian restaurant is set to open on Friday 14 August in a beautiful Grade-II listed building on Vicar Lane which was formerly Flannels.
First opening in London, Dishoom now has restaurants dotted all over the UK including a huge site in Manchester. The group is famed for its lavish and grand interiors, as well as its home-style curries, grills and breakfasts including its legendary bacon naans.
Acai and the Tribe
88 Vicar Lane
Image: The Manc Group
Acai and the Tribe first opened four years ago in Manchester, and ever since then it's only gone from strength to strength opening up three other locations across the country.
Next stop? Leeds. And we couldn't be happier about it.
So, what can we expect from this aesthetically-pleasing and ultra trendy female-owned business? Well, loaded acai bowls that look almost too good to eat, superfood smoothies, coffees, matcha and savoury options like avocado toast.
This Japanese restaurant serves a menu full of sushi as well as grilled meats on sticks, sharing sides and build-your-own hand rolls. All of this is wrapped up in the most gorgeous interior, which you can see from their jaw dropping new Manchester site.
Occupying the Grade II-listed space on Vicar Lane, the three-storey building will include a 220-cover dining room, 30-cover terrace and an upstairs bar.
Introducing Moods - a new all-day cafe, bar and events venue that will open to the public at First White Cloth Hall on Kirkgate on Friday 31 July.
Created by husband-and-wife founders Will and Hayley Moody, the team behind Buzz Club Tattoo, Moods will occupy the ground floor of the Grade II* listed building.
Alfonso's
Horsforth
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Famed for it’s toasted Cuban sandwiches, stacked subs and loaded breakfast bagels - Alfonsos Deli has made a name for itself for serving some of the best sandwiches around the city.
Such a good reputation in fact, that they’ve just announced a second location over in the leafy suburb of Horsforth. Get in.
Leeds rallies around independent wine bar after thieves smash windows to steal… an empty bottle
Clementine Hall
An independent wine bar in Leeds city centre was broken into over the weekend.
And do you know what the sneaky thief stole? An empty bottle.
Latitude Wine Bar on The Calls issued a statement about the break in over the weekend, they said: "Some unscrupulous ______________ (insert expletives in the comments) decided to smash our window last night to grab a magnum of chartreuse out of our window.
"Obviously it was a dummy bottle, so more fool them, but it also makes this criminal damage more pointless. DON'T THEY KNOW HOW MUCH GLASS COSTS!?
"Well, this puts a real dampener on the month so if any one feels like popping in to buy a bottle in the shop or a glass in the bar or heading online to place an order this weekend it would really help to support an independent wine merchant and bar.
Images: Latitude Wine Bar
"Thank you to one of our customers who found the abandoned dummy bottle and returned it to us today. Legend! Santé and happy Friyay!"
So not only did the thief smash the window to steal an empty bottle, but they didn't even take it home with them.
In classic Leeds fashion, fellow indies flocked to the comments to support Latitude with many promising to pop in over the weekend for a glass or two.
One comment read: "Do you need a sign in your window saying “this is a dummy bottle you dummy”" whilst another said "Damned spit buckets! I’m sure we’ll be in soon, keep your chins up fam."
So if you've been meaning to pop in for a glass of the good stuff, there's no better time than the present.
Sophie Smith -
21st December 2021 
