Marie Sharp to be Inducted in Pepper Hall of Fame

Marie Sharp

It’s a good week for outstanding Belizean women. Immigration Officer Deborah Baptist Estrada was singled out as the first Belizean woman to promote issues such as human and gender rights, peace and other social issues. Her recognition as made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Today, we can report that world-renowned pepper producer Marie Sharp is headed to the New York Hall of Fame as the only non-American to be inducted into the prestigious class of hot sauce pioneers.  Her brand of condiments is well-known in countries as far as China, Lebanon and in Australia and Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods continues to expand its market.  We all know the story of the famed businesswoman who started making hot sauce out of her kitchen in Hope Creek many years ago.  Since then the small bottles have become a staple on dinner tables around the world.  News Five spoke by phone with an elated Marie Sharp earlier today.

On the Phone: Marie Sharp, Producer, Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods

“It was really a surprise because I am not an America. So actually I am the only outsider of the one that was nominated; all the rest were Americans. So I didn’t believe that I would have been able to get in. But I got in and so the induction ceremony is going to be the twenty-third of April; I have to go for the induction ceremony. I feel excited and I feel very proud because it is a big honor and I never expected to get in simply because I’m not an American…I was the only outsider and I made it. So I am very proud of that. And I have to say thank you to all the people that help me to get where I am today. At my age, I have to thank the good lord that I am still here and I am seeing the fruition of all my thirty-five years of hard work because we just enlarged our factory to a huge expansion. We have tapped into a lot of new markets; we are not selling as far as Australia. We are in Australia, we are in Korea; Japan is still my largest market. We are in Shanghai, we are in Germany, we are in Lebanon, we are in Kuwait. So I am happy that the good Lord has made me see my hard work come to such high expectation.”

Sharp will travel to New York City in April for the induction ceremony.