Edinburgh-based Jamie Cleland – Founder of Big Jim’s Kitchen – produces the world’s only Scottish Whisky barrel aged hot sauces…
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Jamie’s self-stated mission is to create hot sauces with flavours that bring out the best in food and your day. He believes that it’s all about good food, good company and being genuine, and that has become the heart of the Big Jim’s Kitchen community.
For someone with a background in anaesthetics, surgery, and robotics, creating a range of vibrant hot sauces may seem like an unusual direction in which to change career. However, it becomes apparent very quickly from speaking to Jamie that this is about passion and pursuing what ignites his spirit. And that is an excellent motivator for a small business owner.
When Covid hit, Jamie was working in a surgical robotics start-up in Edinburgh helping to implement their first system at the Western General Hospital. Unfortunately, due to stressors brought on by both work and the pandemic, mental health issues forced Jaime to leave his position.
“I really dived into cooking, which has always been a real passion of mine,” Jamie explains. “When I was younger I wanted to be a chef. So, I started making my own hot sauces, just for myself. I was doing a bit of barbecuing in the garden, trying to get back to a good place. Then I started giving the sauces out to some friends.”
The feedback from Jamie’s friends was fantastic and it was they who suggested that his flavour and spice combinations – along with the unique concept of ageing them in whisky barrels – would make for a great business idea.
Jamie’s father and brother both proudly served in the Royal Marines, which was how he came across X-Forces Enterprise. As a Specialist Business Support Partner for the British Business Bank, we were delighted to support him with a Start Up Loan of £20,000 and to guide him through the process. An experience he describes as being extremely helpful:
“The X-Forces Enterprise team were amazing at coaching me through and enabled me to build my business plan to a point where I could put it forwards and get the funding. So it’s amazing to have them there to help guide me along the way, and if it wasn’t for their advice I wouldn’t be where I am.”
Starting with selling at markets and through his online store, Jamie now has his sauces on the shelves of over 20 outlets. He was also approached by Scottish Design Exchange who support artists and artisans to get their products into locations with good passing trade.
“The idea is that you rent a shelf space,” Jamie explains. “and then you get all of the proceeds from the sale. They have one in Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and one on George Street in Edinburgh.”
Having done everything himself up until now – branding design, recipes, making the product, fulfilment, and shipping – the next step in the evolution of Big Jim’s Kitchen is a deal with a third party manufacturer who can handle production, allowing Jaime to focus on getting his creations into more stores. That’s not to say he won’t have his own production facility in the future!
Founder and CEO of X-Forces Enterprise, Ren Kapur MBE, commented:
“Big Jim’s was born out of passion, creativity, and a love for bold flavour – but to turn that vision into a real business, Jamie needed belief and backing. That’s where X-Forces Enterprise and Start-Up Loans came in. Our support gave him the funding and the confidence to launch something truly special. Now, he’s bottling the spirit of Scotland – one whiskey-infused sauce at a time.”
When asked if there was anything else he’d like to get across to our readers, Jaime opted not to talk about his business but to flag up a not-for-profit organisation called Andy’s Man’s Club that’s doing great work with people who have suffered with mental health problems:
“It’s a forum that is very open for anybody to come to, and an opportunity for people that maybe feel they can’t talk to, or wouldn’t like to talk to, the people immediately close to them. They can go to a completely non-judgmental space to hear other people talking about their problems, and also talk about their own.”
Selfless, talented, resilient, creative. The future is bright for Jamie and Big Jim’s Kitchen.
Read more stories of entrepreneurial success in the Armed Forces community at www.x-forces.com
