An interview with Tim Hillgarth, founder of the Saucerer
Today, we’re talking with Tim Hillgarth, founder of The Saucerer — a brand inspired by his upbringing in a French-Italian home where pasta and homemade sauces were a way of life. Growing up, every meal was cooked from scratch, and Tim developed a love for simple, bold Mediterranean flavours. Later, as a busy university graduate with little time or energy to cook, he realised there had to be a better way to get great-tasting food fast — and The Saucerer was born. You may have noticed we’ve recently added some of The Saucerer’s Stir-In pasta sauces — find out more about them in this interview, give them a try, and see for yourself how good they are. Perfect for a quick treat, and totally delicious — you won’t want to miss out.
A Family Full of Flavour
Your mum was French and your grandfather Italian — what were some of the sauce traditions or mealtime memories that stuck with you growing up?
Honestly, food was just normal life for us. There was always something bubbling away on the stove — no recipes, no measuring, just good Mediterranean ingredients and a lot of instinct. My mum’s throw-it-together style definitely shaped how I think about flavour today: keep it simple, but make it count.
From Family Table to Food Brand
When did it hit you that those homemade flavours from childhood could become a business?
I think it really hit me after another disappointing dinner with a store-bought sauce that tasted like…well, sadness. I remember thinking, Surely we can do better than this? From there, it was a slow (and very saucy) journey from frustration to figuring out how to commercialise good sauce without using any nasties
The Name’s Got Bite
We’ve got to ask — where did the name The Saucerer come from? Genius branding or pure kitchen magic?
Bit of both, maybe? Actually my ex girlfriend’s dad called me “The Saucerer” once after a particularly good dinner party feed, and it just stuck. It felt cheeky, memorable, and a little bit magic — which is exactly what I wanted the sauces to feel like too.
Stirring Up Something Better
No Fuss
Your sauces are all natural, vegan, and don’t even need to be heated — how important was that convenience and clean label approach to you?
Massively important. Life’s busy — no one has time to decipher a label full of weird additives. I wanted something real, fast, and delicious without the guilt trip. If you want to eat it cold out of the jar with a spoon (no judgement), it should still taste amazing. A lot of people send me photos of them just using it as a dip with a glass of wine in the evening. There’s a girl called Minty Brown she does it a lot.
Taste-Test Marathon
We hear there was a lot of pasta involved in the recipe development — what did that process look like, and how did you know when you’d nailed it?
Well it was a lot of trial and error. I remember the first two batches. One was green and one was red. The green one was a padron pepper sauce. It was horrible! But you learn and now we’ve got the range pretty tight. Cooking, tweaking, begging friends and family to be brutally honest was a slog but you know you’ve nailed it when you get that silence around the table because everyone’s too busy eating.
Dish It Out
What’s the ultimate dish + sauce combo you think everyone needs to try?
Well the new fav for the connoisseurs is Saucerer’s new gochujang sauce with sausage meat and using Northern’s Pasta’s Radiatori. Recipe on our Instagram. It’s an absolute belter.
Mediterranean Made Easy
Sauce with Soul
Can you walk us through your current range — what inspired each of the sauces?
Chorizo – Northern Spain
Aubergine – Tunisia
Mushroom – France (Mum)
Tom’s Hot Calabrian – (Tom, London, Pizza)
Gochujang – (A conversation with Northern Pasta)
We have two more coming out in the next two months so WATCH THIS SPACE
Minimal Effort, Maximum Flavour
What would you say to someone who thinks jarred sauces can’t be premium?
I LOVE this question – the shelf life comes from the acidity of the sauce – Nothing else. Biggest misconception that everyone needs to know about.
The Art of Al Dente
You’ve got strong feelings about how pasta should be cooked — what’s your top tip for getting it just right?
Salt the water like you’re seasoning the ocean, and take it off the heat a minute earlier than you think you should. Pasta should have a bit of a bite – if you don’t make it Al Dente you shouldn’t have the right to vote in a general election
The Bigger Picture
From Disappointed to Delicious
This whole journey started from a place of frustration with what was on the shelves — how does it feel now, knowing you’ve created an option for people in the same position?
I sample a lot in shops, last time I was in Dugard & Daughters in Putney a guy came up to me and told me the mushroom sauce was the best pasta sauce he’d every tried and made his evenings so much easier. I loved that.
Made for Busy Lives
Who do you think The Saucerer sauces are really for — and what makes them a pantry essential?
It’s honestly surreal (and very cool). Every time someone messages saying “Finally! A sauce that doesn’t taste like cardboard!” it feels like we’re doing exactly what we set out to do.
Fiery Favourites
Which sauce do you find people get hooked on the quickest?
They’re for anyone who’s hungry, busy, and refuses to compromise on taste. Whether you’re a uni student, a tired parent, or just someone who cannot deal with another sad takeaway night. Or someone who doesn’t want to spend half their monthly salary on a Deliveroo
Future Flavours?
Are there any new recipes or ideas on the horizon? Any twists you’re itching to bottle up?
Yesssss Three in the next two months!
Quick-Fire Round
Let’s pop the lid on your saucy side…
- Spaghetti or penne? Spag
- Stir it or spoon it? Stir!
- Sweet or savoury sauces? Savoury
- Spicy Sauces or not spicy ? spicy
- Classic comfort or bold new flavour? Bold
- Pasta at the table or straight from the pot? I chug them like they were sodas
Loved what you heard? Now’s the time to grab yourself a jar (or two… or three!) of The Saucerer’s incredible Stir-In sauces. Trust us, your tastebuds will thank you. Head over to 5ADayBox and stock up — because once you’ve tried them, one jar just won’t be enough.
