Sweet Mama Janisse's Chili Pepper Paste

Her sauces are famous and purchased from people all over the world, and, as was previously reported in this paper, her Sticky Love Sauce occupies a spot at the National Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb, Wis. after winning a bronze medal at the Worldwide Mustard Competition in Napa years ago.

With gold-medal sauces and beloved Southern-inspired entrees like fried catfish, creole pork, jambalaya and jerk-fried chicken, as well as an entire vegetarian and catering menu, an inflated ego would be forgivable in such a successful soul — but that isn’t the case with Sweet Mama Janisse.

She said she does it all for the smile on her customer’s face who come to enjoy her good cooking in person- at her Bless My Soul Cafe. “My pleasure is seeing them enjoy the food,” she said of her customers of all ages who frequent her cafe. “That’s the beauty. When you’ve made someone that happy.