Sal’s Cuisine Named Best Louisiana - Made Jarred Red Gravy by New Orleans Chefs
In New Orleans, pasta sauce isn’t just pasta sauce. It’s red gravy — and it’s personal. It’s debated at family tables, judged by memory, and measured against what generations before us cooked on Sundays.
That passion was on full display when Italian and Sicilian chefs, restaurateurs, and home cooks gathered to blind-taste Louisiana-made jarred pasta sauces. The tasting, documented by the Times-Picayune / New Orleans Advocate, brought strong opinions, high standards, and zero patience for shortcuts.
For us at Sal’s Cuisine, the results mattered because the judges weren’t marketers or focus groups. They were people who live with red gravy, cook it, argue about it, and know immediately when something misses the mark.
On a cool March morning, five New Orleans–area chefs and Italian-American cooks met at the Mandeville home of Maria Compagno, the retired owner of Compagno’s Restaurant — a New Orleans institution that operated for nearly 70 years. Their goal was simple but demanding: taste 11 Louisiana-made pasta sauces, blind, and decide which came closest to what they would actually serve at home.
What the Judges Were Looking For
Each sauce was heated, sampled with French bread, and judged anonymously. The panel focused on fundamentals:
- Flavor and balance
- Visual appeal
- How closely it resembled a sauce made in a home kitchen or restaurant — not a factory
The discussion around the table quickly narrowed to one core principle: the tomato should lead.
Judges agreed that great red gravy shouldn’t be overly sweet, heavily spiced, or dominated by dried herbs. Many sauces missed the mark by tasting more like pizza sauce than something meant for pasta.
As one judge put it, too many jarred sauces lose the freshness and simplicity that define authentic Sicilian and Italian cooking.
The Clear Standout
A Decisive Win.
Sal’s Cuisine New Orleans Sicilian Red Gravy finished in first place — 15 points ahead of the second-place sauce and 30 points ahead of the third-place finishers.
Before the winner was revealed, every judge at the table independently predicted the same outcome.
Why It Stood Apart
- It wasn’t overly sweet
- The tomato flavor came through first
- It tasted fresh, not overcooked
- It reminded judges of the red gravy they make at home
Another judge said they wouldn’t put pasta on several of the other sauces — but had no hesitation with Sal’s.
A Sauce Rooted in Tradition
Sal’s Cuisine Sicilian Red Gravy includes pork fat, a traditional element that gave it a richer, more authentic flavor than the vegetarian sauces in the tasting. While that makes it a heavier option nutritionally, the judges agreed that authenticity and flavor were the purpose of this evaluation.
After the judging, the group also sampled Sal’s Cuisine Heart Smart All-Purpose Sauce — a vegetarian option with lower fat and sodium. Several judges noted it would have ranked near the top had it been included in the original lineup.
A Matter of Taste — and Heritage
Taste is personal. Some prefer sweeter sauces. Others want spice or heavier seasoning. Louisiana has an impressive range of locally made pasta sauces, many with loyal followings.
But when it came to balance, restraint, and fidelity to New Orleans–style Sicilian red gravy, the panel agreed:
Sal’s Cuisine stood above the rest.
For us, that recognition matters not because it was a competition, but because it came from people who know exactly what red gravy is supposed to be.
And that’s how we’ve always made it.