Mary as a child
Mary as a child
Mary, Michael and their 3 children
Mary, Michael and their 3 children

The Founder of Hogan’s Chilli Sauces, Mary Hogan, was born in Phuket, Thailand in 1932. Mary learnt to cook at a very young age and over the years perfected her culinary skills by mastering age old recipes that had been passed down from generation to generation.

In 1950 Mary met Michael Hogan (from Malacca in Malaysia) where soon after they married and had three children. Michael who at the time was working in Phuket as a dredge master in tin mines moved the family to his home country of Malaysia. Mary, during her time in Malaysia got exposure to new recipes, which allowed her to further expand her culinary repertoire.

In 1969 Michael decided to move his family to Australia to pursue a better life for his children. After a 6-day boat ride from Singapore the Hogan family arrived in Perth, Western Australia. During her first few months in Perth Mary found it quite difficult to adjust and desperately wanted to return to Thailand. In order to alleviate her lonliness Mary turned to her love of cooking, however she quickly found that many of the ingredients used in Asian cuisine were unavailable in Perth at the time. As a result, Mary began planting a number of different Asian herbs and spices (in particular chillies) in her backyard.

1984, Mary in her Jandabup factory
1984, Mary in her Jandabup factory

Mary eventually found a job at a local supermarket chain and in her spare time would make chilli sauce which she would then give away to her co-workers. Mary’s sauces were so well-liked that a friend suggested that she sell them, and that is exactly what she did. In 1975 Mary decided to go out on her own and start selling her sauces. She quickly took Hogan’s Chilli Sauce from a small backyard business and it grew until the point of where she had to find a larger facility to manufacture her products. 1984 Mary and Michael bought a 10 acre property in Jandabup (Wanneroo) which was large enough to build a house, set up a factory, and grow the quantities of produce required for making her delicious sauces.

Early Hogan's products
Early Hogan’s products

Almost 40 years on Hogan’s Chilli Sauces is still manufactured on the original property and is now run by Mary’s son Herbert. Although she does not own the business anymore Mary Hogan at 81 years of age still wakes up at 5am every morning to go down to her factory to make her famous hand-made curry pastes and chilli sauces.

Today Hogan’s Chilli Sauces have expanded into the Eastern States of Australia. Adelaide now provides an enthusiastic market, and a small amount of product can be found in New South Wales and Victoria.

All the Hogan’s sauces and pastes are authentically hand made with no colours, flavours or preservatives; are extremely concentrated; and made with only the highest quality of ingredients. Hogan’s customers receive the best value for money with our products as you only need a tablespoon to feed a family, in comparison with many other competitors that require half to a full jar.

Mary Hogan
Mary Hogan celebrating her 90th Birthday in May, 2022