By KURT DUSTERBURG

For nearly two decades, Abena Antwi has developed skin care products for Burt’s Bees. As a chemist, she formulates products such as lip balms, facial creams and shampoos. “It’s like you’re cooking in a kitchen,” she says. “It’s like a chef. You have to know the ingredients, combine them and come out with a product.”

So when Antwi merged her knack for blending ingredients with her love for cooking, something good seemed almost inevitable. During her childhood in Ghana, her mother and grandmother taught her to make jollof rice, a tomato-based dish that is a staple of West African countries. (Yes, for those invested in the jollof wars, this is Ghanian rather than Nigerian jollof.) When COVID-19 hit in 2020, she had a garden full of tomatoes at her home in Apex and plenty of time on her hands. “So one day, I just took the tomatoes and made a big pot of sauce and bottled it,” she says. “My sister said, ‘Why don’t you post it on Facebook and see if people will resonate to it?’ I think I made five jars. And it was like, if you want it, come get it.”

Her neighbors came for those first five jars, but soon they were lining up at her home every time she made another batch. The positive reviews from her neighbors sent her off to the Apex Farmers Market, where she whipped up the first 100 jars of Queen’s Jollof Sauce. “I had my display and the products, and I had the jollof rice cooking. I would mix it and serve it as a sample. We sold out.”

Antwi continued with her solo efforts, appearing at markets in Holly Springs and other communities, always getting the same feedback. “If they try it, they buy it,” she says with a gentle laugh. “I would say 90% of my sales come from people who try the product.”

Queen’s Jollof Sauce and other seasoning products Antwi has created are available at specialty shops around the Triangle, which keeps the products in demand and keeps her on the go. She recently returned from a business trip for Burt’s Bees, only to find she was down to her last case of sauce. The same day, she headed to her commercial cooking space and began turning out another batch. “Within six hours, I can make 300 jars,” Antwi says. “It’s a slow process. You have your tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, oregano and parsley. You have to roast the tomatoes first, then blend it and cook it. That’s where you develop the flavor.”