Linda Simmons, his wife, actually owns this small gift shop near their family farm in the gentle rolling hills of Bedford County. For several years Simmons, whose family is now in its fourth generation of farming, was part owner of an airline and, as captain, flew throughout the Caribbean. During his travels, Simmons developed a fondness for Jamaica's Scotch bonnet pepper, considered by many to be the hottest chili pepper on earth, and began using it in Linda's grandmother's pepper jelly recipe. The result is what launched Captain Rodney's line of jellies and hot sauces and the general success of Simmons' business, which has nearly doubled in size every year since it began in January 1996. A traditional Southern hors d'oeuvre, pepper jelly is a creation that came about as an alternative to drying peppers to preserve them, Simmons explained.
Most folks eat it on crackers with cream cheese.
In fact, Simmons began making pepper jelly every December to give away as Christmas gifts. People liked it so much they started asking him when he was going to make more. Then Linda suggested the possibility of selling it in her store, and it sold very well. Eventually, they started selling to retailers in neighboring towns. Simmons says that the biggest problem in getting started as an entrepreneur is simply knowing what to do.