About Spicy Situation

If it's not real food then what is it?

Image of Eric Wheeler at a public speaking engagement surrounded by audience members

Some questions, when asked, are so absurd they demand further inquiry. This is one of them. At Spicy Situation, we build bridges with whole food hot sauces — because once you start asking this question, you realize how much of our “food” isn’t food at all.

Our Mission

I create hot sauces as bridges from chemical dependence to real food nutrition. Whether you’re breaking free from processed food addiction, recovering from substance dependency, or simply tired of ingredients you can’t pronounce, these sauces meet you where you are and help you cross over. Because if it’s not real food then what is it?

Why This Matters

I know chemical dependency intimately. After 26+ years in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction, I’ve seen how the brain clings to what hurts it most. What many don’t realize is that food chemicals operate on the same neurological pathways as substances — triggering cravings, tolerance, and withdrawal. I lost my mother to stage 4 heart disease, after a lifetime of struggling with food addiction and exacerbated by food chemical addiction. Caring for her in her final year made this mission deeply personal. I saw how desperately she wanted relief, but how few real options existed to meet her halfway. Her struggle sharpened my resolve: if it’s not real food then what is it?

an image of real fruits, vegetables and peppers representing the ingredients for Spicy Situation hot sauces

Image of Eric Wheeler the Open Source technologist working on Aurora the personal, private AI assistant for the rest of us

The Philosophy: Seduction vs Assault

Recovery taught me one thing above all: lasting change comes through engagement, not force. Most “healthy” substitutes assault taste buds with blandness. Most “extreme” hot sauces assault with extracts that burn but don’t nourish. Spicy Situation is different. We believe seduction changes people — bold flavors that draw you in, real ingredients that feed your body, and heat that excites instead of punishes. Because if it’s not real food then what is it?

The Innovation:

Through daily yoga practice, I’ve learned to operate from conscious awareness, not old patterns (most of the time). That clarity opened the door to innovation. I discovered how to create flavor complexity and heat integration industrial methods can’t match. No chemical extracts. No shortcuts. Just whole food + solid methods and processes + creativity. That’s how 27 superhot peppers in Fire Dragon can become 12+ million Scoville units that you can actually eat. Impossible? Maybe. But if it’s not real food then what is it

The Bridge

Each sauce is a bridge to possibility: For Recovery Community → Familiar flavors that don’t trigger old cycles For Food Addicts → Satisfaction that breaks chemical craving patterns For Health Seekers → Clean ingredients without compromise For Heat Enthusiasts → Unbelievable fire, no extracts required For Everyone → Proof you don’t have to choose between flavor and health

Real Food, Real Change

Every ingredient in every sauce is something your grandmother would recognize. No “natural flavors” masking chemical cocktails No preservatives that outlive you No fake fire, no empty promises Just real food, real change, and a real question: If it’s not real food… then what is it?