We love when our local artisans are recognized on a national level so we were thrilled to hear that Cottage Lane Kitchen was named as a national finalist in “Martha Stewart American Made Audience Choice Award” contest. We’ve got five reasons why you should vote (up to six times a day!) between now through October 19.
- Samantha Swan is paying homage to her family’s recipe. She started the business in 2011 after her family’s reserves of pepper relish started to dwindle.
- There’s two flavors of the relish to savor. Try the original family recipe, Get Me a Switch. If you’re feeling bold, Cape Fear, the spicier (but sweeter) relish, might be for you. Look for it locally at places like The Fresh Market, Southern Season, Foster’s Market and Cliff’s Meat Market.
- The relish adds a kick to so many dishes. Samantha’s got dozens of recipes from winter chili and spicy peanut noodles to veggie stirfry that incorporate Get Me a Switch and Cape Fear. Try one for dinner tonight!
- Cottage Lane was the runner-up in the Best Dish category at last year’s Pepper Festival, placed third in the Fiery Food Challenge this year and was the winner of the Chile Pepper Awards in 2014. Clearly, she’s got a winner on her hands.
- Samantha’s got deep roots in Chapel Hill. Her great-great uncle was the first one to move to Cottage Lane, into a house on the corner of Rosemary. Her grandfather came to live there when he went to school and eventually built his house at the end of the street. Across the front yard is the house where her great aunt and uncle lived.“My grandfather was postmaster in town and my grandmother was a professor at Duke. We’ve got a lot of history here,” she says. “The family’s been on this little patch of land for more than 100 years probably.”
