Photo by Sam Dean l The Roanoke Times

It all started with a small, brown leatherbound book, which appeared in John Draper’s life just long enough to change it forever.

What if he hadn’t found it nestled between the other books in his mother’s cookbook collection?

What if he hadn’t been so intrigued by one particular recipe in the book, which contained pages and pages of them in his grandmother’s handwriting, that he jotted it down on the spot?

Well, then the former loan officer would not now be running a company that rescued him from the economic slump.

Sauce bottles bearing the black-and-white image of his straight-faced, no nonsense grandmother, Sippie, would certainly not be on shelves in dozens of stores across Virginia.

It is almost as if Aunt Sippie (she preferred that name, as “Grandma” made her sound too old) had a hand in all of this.

And that would be just like her.

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Check out recipes for shrimp Sippie wrapped in bacon and Sippie salad dressing.

Have you tried Sippie’s Sauce? If so, what did you think?