From Cheesecake to Everything Sauce
So, why would you put hot sauce on ice cream?! Todd didn't just wake up one morning and decide to make hot sauce for dessert - that would be mental, right?
From Teasing to a Badge of Honour
When Todd was six, a classmate teased him with the nickname Toad. With help from The Wind in the Willows, the name became a symbol of adventure and resilience. Years later, colleagues in emergency medicine used it affectionately, and it ultimately inspired the name for his first sauces.
National Parks to Culinary Adventures
Growing up in U.S. National Parks instilled Todd with a love of exploration. That spirit carried into the kitchen where he made a jalapeño cheesecake which was modelled after hot pepper jelly on cream cheese he had as an appetiser. The real breakthrough came with habaneros — their citrusy heat paired with Key lime created a flavour unlike anything else. The cheesecakes were a huge hit and a comment by a customer tasting a cold slice - "This would be great as an ice cream" - inspired him to make a similar flavour for use on ice cream.
The Birth of Toad Sweat
A nurse’s comment after sampling an extra-fiery batch — “If that stuff’s so hot it’s making Toad sweat…” — gave the world’s first dessert hot sauce its name in 1997. Launched at fiery food shows in the U.S., Toad Sweat gained national attention, even appearing on Good Morning America and the Food Network.
Across the Atlantic
In 2016, Todd moved with his family to the UK, continuing his medical career while Toad Sweat’s reputation simmered in the background. After a life-changing injury ended his time in emergency medicine, Todd chose to revive his sauces for a new audience. Peppered Palette Ltd was founded in Lancashire in 2022, and the UK launch began at Bolton Food & Drink Festival in 2023.
Recognition and Reinvention
Festival success built momentum, and in 2025 Peppered Palette won the Taste of Lancashire Producer Award. Judges praised the sauces as “unique, versatile, and guaranteed to bring heat and fun.” Four of the sauces have been awarded Great Taste gold stars. Customers confirmed what Todd had long suspected: these sauces weren’t just for desserts — they worked on everything.
Sweet Heat Fun! – The Next Chapter
Toad Sweat UK has now evolved into Sweet Heat Fun!, a bold new identity reflecting the sauces’ true versatility. The recipes haven’t changed — they’re still the original award-winning blends — but the vision has grown. From breakfast to cocktails, from chicken to ice cream, Sweet Heat Fun! is Lancashire’s own everything sauce, born in America and perfected in Britain. Makes everything taste happy!