Bellingham sauce company earns national awards; here’s where you can get some
A Bellingham-based hot sauce company known for winning international awards and being featured on “Hot Ones,” brought home more awards from the New York City Hot Sauce Expo last month.
Funky’s Hot Sauce was launched by Matthew Mini back in 2019 in Bellingham. He recently purchased Trilby’s BBQ to add a line of barbecue sauces to the company’s lineup.
“The New York City Hot Sauce Expo took place on Sept. 20 this year — just over a week ago,” a company news release states. “This is the place where they designate winning hot sauce companies with the coveted ‘Screaming MiMi awards.’ The Screaming MiMi awards are given to the top sauces in their respective categories. These sauces are ranked by a panel of judges that consist of New York’s finest and brightest in the culinary industry.”
Funky’s Hot Sauce won a few awards this year:
- First-place Screaming Mimi in the triple-x-hot category for Funky’s Nirvana hot sauce.
- First-place Screaming Mimi in the fruit-based BBQ sauce category for Trilby’s Chipolte Marionberry BBQ sauce
- Third-place Screaming Mimi in the fruit-based hot sauce category for Funky’s Space Madness hot sauce.
“The Nirvana sauce is a Thai inspired super-hot hot sauce made with dragon’s breath chilies, galangal, kaffir and toasted sesame oil. Space Madness is a maple syrup/hot sauce hybrid made with locally grown sugar rush peach chilies, smoked ghost chilies, whisky, saffron, apricot and of course; maple syrup. Funky’s originally made Space Madness in tribute to local waffle shop Sweet As Waffles,” Mini wrote.
“In just six short years, Funky’s has picked up 31 awards (26 with Funky’s and 5 with Trilby’s) and appeared on season 23 of the Emmy-nominated YouTube show “Hot Ones” with their award-winning “Stellar Fuzz” garlic habanero sauce,” Mini wrote in the news release.
Back in May, the company also won international awards at the European Hot Sauce Awards at the Berlin Chili Festival.
Funky’s Hot Sauces and Trilby’s BBQ sauces can be purchased online or at Haggen grocery stores, Elizabeth Station, Schuh Farms, Del Fox Meats and other retail locations.
Mini also sells his sauces in person at the Bellingham Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 20 at 1100 Railroad Ave.
This story was originally published October 21, 2025 at 5:15 AM.
