The Sauce Boss

There is a local Florida legend, Bill Wharton, who goes by the name of The Sauce Boss.

I first got to see him perform during Radio Live.  Radio Live is a free show that is taped live the first Thursday of every month for WUWF, tv and radio.  The problem with him performing in this kinda venue is that he can't work his usual magic.

"What is that magic?", you may wonder.

He's a chef and makes a pot of gumbo on stage while he is performing, and as he finishes his last song, he calls out "Gumbo is done!  Come get some!" and feeds the whole crowd for free.

Don't know what gumbo is?  It's a stew with a spicy kick that contains chicken, sausage, shrimp, oysters, sometimes crawfish, okra, tomatoes and served over rice with plenty of hot sauce.  don't forget the gumbo file (powdered sassafras leaves).

His blues/zydeco/cajun style music goes perfectly with the making of gumbo.  His CD contains not only music, but if you put it in your computer, it contains 200 of his recipes, plus you get a bottle of his own hot sauce to go along with it.

Friday night we were enjoying some of the fine weather at Pensacola Beach and stopped at The Paradise Bar and Grill where he happened to be playing.

The gumbo was good, the music was better.  At one point, the drummer and Bill went behind the bar and were playing the liqour bottles for a good 20 minutes.  If a bottle sounded too sharp to him, he would hand out a shot to make it the right note.

If you ever hear that he might be playing near you, if you don't go, you're a fool.

check out what my friend Roy Hillbinger had to say about him.