About Banhoek Chilli Oil

OUR PROMISE

Banhoek Chilli Oil will not burn your tongue or overpower the flavour of your food.

It will enhance the taste of any dish with the perfect bite of flavour.

OUR STORY

Ken Kinsey-Quick (founder) and Adi Meintjes (co-founder) share a passion for chilli oils; they are also brothers-in-law. Tired of the inconsistent chilli oils served by most pizza restaurants, they began experimenting over Sunday family lunches. After more than 60 different combinations of chillies and edible oils, they created the perfect bite of flavour.

With Ken’s entrepreneurial spirit and Adi’s incredible food palate, they launched Banhoek Chilli Oil. What started in the kitchen quickly moved into the garage and finally, in 2020, to a permanent home in the heart of the Cape Winelands.

THE FYNBOS DIFFERENCE

The ingredients that go into our chilli oil are as unique as our story. Our chillies and canola (rapeseed) oil are grown in the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest yet most diverse of the world’s six Floral Kingdoms.

The extraordinary diversity and rarity of its distinctive flora led to it being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so there’s nothing quite like it anywhere on the planet.

The Cape Floral Kingdom is home to the unique fynbos vegetation, and it’s in these fynbos-nurtured soils where the much-loved rooibos tea and world-class wines are grown.

Together, these unique-tasting ingredients combine to create a chilli oil that’s truly unmatched in the world.

our process
The company is founded on three principles: quality, consistency and flavour
Our chillies are grown locally, so we can confirm their provenance. Once picked, the chillies are sun-dried, to give us that ideal colour, and hand-crushed for efficient infusion. Every batch is handcrafted, using induction technology to guarantee an even extraction of flavour from the chillies.
After infusion the oil is drained, cooled and passed through a 16-stage filter to ensure consistency.
Our process guarantees that the flavour of Banhoek Chilli Oil will be as pure on the day you open the bottle, as it was the moment it left our kitchen, no matter where you are in the world.
our people
We’d like to introduce you to Sibongile Mateyisi, our head of production. We first met him when he arrived with our garden maintenance company. It didn’t take long before we saw that his energy, enthusiasm and eagerness to learn were wasted behind the handles of a wheelbarrow. Local economic empowerment is at the core of Banhoek Chilli Oil, so we brought Sibongile into the business, training him in the production of the chilli oil. Within two years he was overseeing the entire production process.
It was then that he approached us with a request to invest his own money into Banhoek Chilli Oil. We were thrilled that he wanted to build his future alongside the company and immediately welcomed him as a shareholder. Since then, we have matched his investment, increasing his stake in the future success of the business.
Our Community
We really care as much about our local community as we do about our chillies. South Africa has many social challenges, especially unemployment, and we work hard to uplift our valley by hiring locally. All we need is a positive attitude - we will teach the skills needed. Today almost all our staff can walk to work, a massive plus where reliable and affordable transport is scarce.
With the support of a local farmer, we have instituted an emerging farmer’s programme by committing to purchase their chillies, thereby further improving employment in the local community. Individually and as a responsible business, we’re dedicated to making our valley a better place, especially for our local community.
Our Sustainability
At Banhoek Chilli Oil, we spice things up sustainably! Every batch is handcrafted from locally sourced ingredients, making our chilli oil a fusion of flavour and eco-consciousness. We use chillies that have been sun-dried before being hand-crushed and paired with golden, GMO-free canola (rapeseed) oil from the Overberg.
Just as we are proud supporters of local businesses, we’re just as passionate about our planet. We minimise waste, embrace green energy and recycle on-site to reduce our environmental footprint. Crafting with conscience, we deliver a much-loved chilli oil while also giving our planet much love!