Hot on the heels of Sara Bavington’s 13th birthday today, Friday the 13th, she embarks on a mission to tame dragons.
The Oak Bay youth pushed – or inspired, depending on your point of view – her parents to pitch to the Dragons’ Den when the television show came to town.
First she mentioned it casually to dad Graham Bavington. When auditions started, she became more insistent. “I said ‘no, I don’t really want to.’ She said ‘but Dad, I’ll do it with you,’” said Graham.
The next day they headed downtown to the Marriott Hotel.
“We did the application the night before and sent it online then we just went in and pitched. We really weren’t prepared.”
The duo pitched the family’s Hee-Haw Horseradish. They developed their own recipe after seeking a hot and flavourful horseradish and a conversation with friends around the dinner table. The result is a handmade horseradish with natural ingredients including honey, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and fresh horseradish root.
“They obviously did a really good job,” said mom Pam.
Turns out Sara was a natural, and whatever the pair did, they made the cut for a May 16 filming of the CBC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their businesses for investment opportunities.
“We’ve had a couple discussions with our producer and she has a few ideas so we’re scripting right now. I can’t really reveal what we’ll be doing,” Graham said. “They don’t write anything for us. I think we’re probably just going to wing it again.”
No way, says Pam.
“I’ve got to have everything prepared. Graham can just go with it,” she said. “We’ll be pretty prepared at least for the first part.”
As a family that routinely pitches the product at the Oak Bay and Sidney street markets, they’re well tuned into what the market wants.
“Those have really prepared us because people really have questions. When people are buying food they want to know everything. And not just about what’s in the jar but how it’s made. We’ve been grilled for a year I feel,” Graham said. “Those markets are the best way to get our product out and tested and the feedback we get is gold. They don’t hold back.”
Graham, Pam, Sara and eight-year-old Matthew head Toronto this weekend.