Suze McClellan, owner of Ojai Jalapeño Jelly, has never followed a conventional path. Through the chapters of her curving life, she has traveled extensively, started several businesses, recovered from difficult health issues, and raised both a family and herself.
McClellan attended Santa Barbara High School and graduated at age 16, then married her sweetheart and moved abroad.
“I was a bit wild and strong-willed,” she said. “I married on a whim and shortly realized it wasn’t the best decision.”
McClellan and her husband parted ways after a year, and she moved to Switzerland. She learned rudimentary German and French during her stay and cobbled together an income through modeling, working as an au pair and importing down jackets from the United States, which she then resold to nearby ski resort employees.
“I learned a new way of thinking through all my escapade,” McClellan said. “I don’t regret a thing.”
McClellan returned to the Central Coast after two years and earned her pilot’s license, which led to a job running logistics and arranging trips for Mercury Air Center, a Santa Barbara charter air company. Next she ran the flight school at Aerobatic Safety Unlimited, formerly known as The Pitts Stop, in Santa Paula. The school largely served Edwards Air Force Base enlistees seeking emergency maneuver training and taught already licensed pilots how to recover from a flat spin, a stall and other aviation emergencies. They came to learn end-over-end maneuvers, and McClellan did an assortment of thrilling ride-alongs with the skilled pilots.
“I met so many interesting people during those years, as they loved adventure as much as I did,” she said.
McClellan remarried, but later divorced, and settled down in Ojai in 1986 to raise a family. Ever the entrepreneur, she briefly started a clothing line and invented the Rat Zapper. What began with McClellan’s frustration over gophers in her garden turned into a successful system of removing irritating rodents in homes.
During their time together, the couple traveled extensively and kept property in both Hollister Ranch and New Zealand, where McClellan assumed the profession of horse trader to gain permanent residency. She transported them via helicopter throughout their 150-acre New Zealand property, where they spent long stretches of time as a family.
Eventually, McClellan found herself single again. At 48, she was blindsided with a medical near-miss. Aching legs led to a stroke, which left her temporarily paralyzed and challenged with coordination. An unknown hole in her heart had made McClellan susceptible to blood clotting, which went unnoticed by doctors and led to the stroke. Her imbalance led to several falls, one of which resulted in a broken sacrum — the body’s core cross bone. McClellan had a long, slow recovery process, which she says now gave her deep gratitude for her now healthy, strong body.
In 2009, a turnaround began for McClellan while watching Good Morning America. The hosts asked viewers for submissions to their Best Sandwich in the Nation Contest. McClellan’s smoked turkey with jalapeño jelly won the contest, and she was featured in the national spotlight.
A fervent grower of peppers, she had experimented extensively with jalapeños and habaneras, cooking them into brioche and fudge before jarring her own jelly. And while her coconut cake had received only honorable mentions at state fairs, her pepper jellies consistently took home the blue ribbon.
In 2010, McClellan started Ojai Jalapeño Jelly. She secured a commercial kitchen space, copious insurance, a processed food license and a packinghouse partner. She attended food shows and fine-tuned her recipes for mass production. After 18 months of product development, she is ready for distribution.
While so far she has managed everything, McClellan acknowledged needing to hire staff in the near future.
Her jelly is available locally at a variety of independent stories, such as Il Fustino, San Ysidro Pharmacy and the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. She also has distribution in Los Angeles and Kansas City. Products in the works include jalapeño and habanero basting sauce, syrup and fudge, as well as pepper chutney.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Jenn Kennedy can be reached at jennkennedy@noozhawk.com. Click here to see more of her work. Follow her on Twitter: @jennkennedy.