Chris Lang, Partner & Co-Owner

Fresh Chile Company Partner / Co-Owner

Hey guys, Chris here from Fresh Chile, coming to you from the 575.

How the Freshest Hatch Green Chile Gets in the Jar

Let me tell you how this whole thing started. Randy McMillan and I would get in the truck and drive up to Hatch every single week. Every week. Thirty minutes north, straight into the Hatch Valley, out to see our farmer Scott Adams at Adams Produce. We walked those fields ourselves. We handpicked the Hatch green chile. We handpicked the red. We wanted to know exactly what was going in the jar before it ever touched a kettle.

Think what Napa is to wine, that's what Hatch is to chile, OK? The greatest chile in the world grows right up the road from my house. And when it hits the roaster? That smell is the official smell of New Mexico. Only state in America with an official smell. Let that sink in.

Before Fresh Chile: Giving Back in Las Cruces

Now let me back up, because Fresh Chile wasn't my first rodeo in this town. I founded Organ Mountain Outfitters right here in Las Cruces. We became the first company in history to hold an official license from the Pueblo of Zia to use the sacred Zia Sun Symbol. First. Before anybody. And through Organ Mountain I've donated over 500,000 meals back into our community.

The thing I'm proudest of in my whole life in business? We paid off the school lunch debt for families across Las Cruces. Paid it off. Kids were sitting in the cafeteria with debt hanging over their lunch tray and we said no. Not in our town. Not our kids. Then we built an endowment with the Las Cruces Public Schools Foundation so those kids get fed forever. And that movement grew bigger than us, it helped inspire legislation in New Mexico so every student in this state gets fed, period. A t-shirt company from the 575 helped change the law of the state. Isn't that wild? Isn't that beautiful? That's what this community does when it decides something matters.

A Restaurant, a Winery, and a Friendship Built in the 575

People ask how Randy McMillan and I ended up partners. I'll tell you. We already had our hands in this valley together. We co-owned Josefina's Old Gate, our restaurant in historic Old Mesilla. We co-owned Rio Grande Winery, where the vines grow in the same dirt and the same sunshine as the chile. Our Chardonnay took New Mexico Wine of the Year in 2021. So when it came time to build Fresh Chile, Randy and I already knew exactly how to build things together. Another hometown company that takes care of its own.

Sold Out Every Saturday at the Las Cruces Farmers Market

Back in the early days we'd do taste testing outside the store at the Farmers Market on Saturdays. We sold out. Same day. Every Saturday, people would taste it and buy everything on the table before we could even think about restocking. That's when Randy and I looked at each other and knew.

Roasted, Cooked, and Bottled in Las Cruces, New Mexico

So here's what we built. Everything gets roasted, cooked, and bottled right here in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Handpicked Hatch chile, chopped into thick meaty one inch pieces, into the kettles with a little garlic, a little lime, a little salt, slow cooked, bottled, and shipped to your door within 24 to 48 hours of cooking. Can Frito-Lay do that? Can Kraft Heinz? I don't think so.

I live in an amazing place. The Organ Mountains rise straight out of the valley desert into the sky, and the best chile on the planet grows thirty minutes up the road. But I'll tell you what really makes this home. The people. The dinners with family and friends around a pot of green chile. We can't sit at the table with every one of you, but we can get you a taste of home with every single meal.

That's Fresh Chile. That's the 575. Come taste it at FreshChileCo.com.

Get in Touch

Phone: (575) 800-8284
Email: service@freshchileco.com
Shop: Hatch Green Chile Collection