Going out on a limb, be it a professional or personal one, can be terrifying and exhilarating. For Ali Schlichter, a Denver chef and creator of Chin Dribblin‘ Asian sauces, following her dreams has led to independence, adventure and meeting Gordon Ramsay.
“Fear is just a construct, and once you realize that, you can do anything,” said Schlichter at the Firefly Handmade Summer Market on Old South Gaylord Street, near Washington Park in Denver, on Sunday, August 11. Here, she had the opportunity to put her sauces in front of a variety of people: Denver locals, visitors and other artisanal business owners. Schlichter uses markets like these to meet community members and promote her sauces.
Chin Dribblin’ is an Asian Fusion sauce experience and is touted online as being the “Boldest Sauce on the Block.” Schlichter is doing something that others are afraid to do: she is modifying traditional recipes with non-traditional flavors like passionfruit and pineapple, and she is doing so boldly, just like her sauces.
“If you think about it, there’s the same six Asian sauces, right?” Schlicther said. “And nobody ever fucks with them. Asian food is traditional, but so is Mexican food, and everyone messes with that. Every other cuisine gets to be fusion-ized; why not Asian?”
As someone who grew up outside of Asian culture, Schlichter gets pushback for creating her sauces from traditional staples, such as soy sauce, ponzu sauce and even peanut sauce.
“You have to deal with a lot of hate,” Schlichter said. “I had one woman say on Twitter, ‘Oh great, another white woman making money off of my culture.’”
Schlichter states that she simply loves Asian food, and it has inspired her company. That being said, being the owner of a company is no easy feat, and for Schlichter, there has been a definite learning curve. Schlicter has faced challenges such as learning business economics, procuring packaging, conducting pH testing and managing her public relations.
“I like being my own boss, but it is hard,” Schlichter said. “You have to be okay with not taking paychecks. You have to be sure of yourself, and there’s imposter syndrome and all of these things.”
Schlichter found that early support of her cooking came with an ultimatum.
“My parents knew I always wanted to cook, but you know, a college degree was really important,” Schlicther said. “They were like, ‘Get a college degree and you can do whatever you want with cooking,’ so I did. I cooked my way through college.”
A four-year degree was the deal, so Schlichter completed a degree in public relations at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014. Throughout her undergrad, Schlichter worked in restaurants such as Fresh Tracks Food and Catering and Chop Shop Casual Urban Eatery. In those restaurants, Schlichter learned management, creativity and “knife skills,” as she often jokes online.
In 2021, Schlichter hatched Chin Dribblin’. She says hard work and long hours in the kitchen have been key to keeping it going. Schlichter’s method is to think of two flavors she enjoys, add a third to tie them together, and then refine the product until she believes it is a good sauce. She believes that her boldness with flavors distinguishes her from others.
Chin Dribblin’ Sauces eventually landed Schlichter on “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars,” a cooking-reality show hosted by chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay. This program features food professionals and entrepreneurs who compete in challenges to measure their business acumen and creativity for the chance to win $250,000 and an investment from Ramsay.
“It was abrupt because I literally didn’t find out I was going until a week before,” Schlicther said. “They were like, ‘Congrats! You’re going to be on the show. You’re going to London. You leave in seven days.’”
With her restaurant expertise and unique personality, Schlichter led and worked with her team (Team Ramsay) to complete challenges. According to her, filming days were long and arduous, and talking to cameras was often stressful, and often fell on her as team lead.
At the end of the season, though Team Ramsay lost the competition, Schlichter was selected as runner-up to Jess Druey from Team Vanderpump. According to Schlichter, there are no hard feelings and a lot of the contestants still keep in touch with one another.
“I love Jess,” Schlichter said. “I’m so supportive that she won. She’s so brilliant. “I still talk to pretty much everyone. Kyson [Clark] was here two days ago. He flew in for an influencer event and so we got to hang out only for two hours, but it was the greatest two hours.”
Schlichter attributes a lot of her opportunities and success to her mother, who passed away just before season two of “Food Stars.”
“My whole life my mom was like, ‘You should go on a Gordon Ramsay show,’” Schlichter said. “This year, we were supposed to go to London together and then she passed away. This was her way of being like, ‘I’m still here; here’s the trip.’”
Schlichter feels that her mother has been with her every step of the way, taking the form of opportunities and, more directly, bees, who seem to visit her during her early morning walks.
“She shows up in the form of bees,” said Schlichter. “People are like, ‘Ah, a bee!’ and I’m like, ‘No, that’s my mom! Don’t swat her!’”
Schlichter believes that her mom helped her get through the hard parts of “Food Stars” in 2024, specifically with challenges in public speaking.
“I’m just a chef and don’t talk to people in public,” Schlichter said. My whole life I struggled with it; I’d get so nervous and freeze up. In the finale, I walked on stage and took a massive deep breath and in that second, my mom just embodied me. I felt her. So then I just fucking crushed it.”
Her mindset is to use doubt and imposter syndrome as fuel, and she presents that as advice for anyone looking to follow their dreams.“There’s nothing to do but face fear,” Schlichter said.
Schlichter has taken to facing her fear by continuing to be creative in the Asian sauce market, regardless of the hate she receives and the monetary uncertainty. So far, she has created sauces like ‘Passionfruit Sweet Chili,’ ‘Spicy Pineapple Peanut,’ ‘Tamarind Yakisoba’ and ‘Kung Wow Spicy Ponzu.’
“My favorite sauce is the spicy pineapple peanut,” Schlichter said. “It’s so underrated. I made it because I couldn’t find a good peanut sauce anywhere, so I made my own. It has tang, it has heat, it has sweetness, it has peanut taste, and it’s just good on everything.”
Schlichter shares that the spicy ponzu sauce is a fan favorite and best seller. It also happened to be the one her mother liked the most. “She always used to give them away to her friends at Christmas,” Schlichter said. “She was my number one fan.”
Ali Schlichter and her Chin Dribblin’ sauces can be found on social media, and Food Stars can be streamed on a variety of streaming services.