Milton Entrepreneur Competes on Lifetime’s ‘Supermarket Superstar!’

Patricia Kiernan’s latest reinvention of her career, after working in venture capital and then running her own medical transcription business for 22 years, has enabled her to use a lifelong passion for cooking and an eye for the perfect Scotch Bonnet pepper.

The longtime Milton resident, who moved to Massachusetts from Jamaica when she was a teenager to attend college, started Stir it Up Cuisine in 2006 as she was transitioning way from the transcription business. After a few years of focusing on catering, she expanded the Weymouth-based company to include retail offerings, focusing on her Stir it Up Sweet Pepper Jelly.

That product, tasted by a friend whose partner works in the television industry, has now made its way to Lifetime TV, earning Kiernan a chance at $10,000 and the opportunity to sell her jelly in supermarkets around the country.

Kiernan competes in Lifetime’s Supermarket Superstar!, a new series premiering July 22 at 10 p.m. Each one-hour episode of the show, hosted by actress Stacey Keibler, follows three home chefs as they pitch their product concepts to food world experts such as specialty foods pioneer Michael Chiarello and Debbi Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies.

“If I were to win it would be fabulous,” Kiernan said. “But just having this total exposure is a gift in itself.”

Kiernan’s episode, “Spreads & Dips,” airs Aug. 19 at 10 p.m. She competes with two other contestants for a chance at the finals.

Kiernan is a natural in front of the camera, and has produced a number of promotional videos for Stir it Up. She said she learned a lot appearing on the show, which filmed in Los Angeles. One expert, for instance, suggested she adjust the amount of pectin in her recipe. 

“That was a nice little eye opener, and I took that to heart,” she said. “Getting that from a complete outside person… They have an eye and a taste for food.”

Kiernan is stocking up in anticipation of the show airing, knowing that regardless of how she fares in the competition, more eyes than ever will be on her product. She is also working to develop new products, such as jerk seasoning.

When Kiernan talks about Supermarket Superstar!, and her Sweet Pepper Jelly, what comes through most is her dedication to quality, to the just-right combination of sweet up front and heat that comes in smoothly.

“When you use the right pepper in right quantity – Scotch Bonnet is one of the hottest peppers in the world – it tastes sweet and the strong flavor creeps up on you,” she said. “I’m very selective about where I get my pepper. I know what a Scotch Bonnet looks like.”

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