Harold and Gale Green: Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Neighbor Harold Green still remembers the day his dad showed him the secret recipe for his homemade barbeque sauce.
It’s a privilege Green treasured and eventually passed down to his own children, and now everyone can enjoy it because Green and his wife, Gale, began selling it commercially earlier this year — although their children are also largely responsible for the fact that Bentley’s Batch 5 (that’s the name) now comes in a jar.
In August of last year, the Greens’ children visited for some smoked ribs and family time. Over ribs, the younger generation insisted that Harold should sell the sauce.
This wasn’t a new discussion. The Green children had been hounding Harold and Gale to sells the sauce for years, but the couple always claimed they were too busy. This time both Harold and Gale were retired.
“We really no longer had good reasons not to look into it,” Harold explains. “So Gale and I relented and said we’d see what it would take.”
Harold had always made the sauce by memory and taste, so nailing down a definite recipe was challenging. It took five batches to get the recipe just right.
They asked their neighbors in Munger Place to taste-test the sauce and give them feedback. The sauce was overwhelmingly well received.
With the help of a co-packer, the family collaborated to create the name, the story for the label and the design. They also developed three more sauces to go with the original: Sweet, Hot, and Sweet N Heat.
Almost every vendor who tasted the sauces decided to carry them, and the in-store tastings were extremely successful. As a result, the Greens sold out of their first 135 cases in less than a month.
Things have taken off much faster than the Greens foresaw, and they see even more growth in Bentley’s Batch 5’s future.
“I’ve always been passionate about cooking out on the grill and making my Dad’s barbecue sauce,” Harold says.
“And now I’m not sure why I waited so long to do something that means so much to me and my family. But I do know my Dad would be proud.”
Learn more at bentleysbatch5.com
