Hummingbird Fine Foods

New York, New York

Vaughn created Hummingbird Fine Foods when her friend Karen kept lovingly pestering her to put her favorite dressings into bottles for her.  It was a little concoction that Vaughn had whipped up one day and Karen couldn’t get enough of it.  It is now called her Mediterranean Vinaigrette.  Vaughn was shocked because even though Karen is an amazing home cook herself, she was scared to make something as simple as salad dressing.  Soon enough, another person begged for one of her salad dressings.  This time it was her sister-in-law, Carol.  That is now her Asian Vinaigrette.  Vaughn knew that she was onto something…

She came up with the Hummingbird name as a nod to her favorite southern desert, the Hummingbird Cake and to a dear family friend, Carla Griffin, who lost her battle with brain cancer in 2012.  She was someone who Vaughn always looked up to and they both loved the Hummingbird Cake.  Carla wore many hats and wore them all well.  During a visit with Carla towards the end of her battle, Vaughn was inspired to finally give the condiment business a go. Carla was, as most women are, just like the hummingbird: beautiful and graceful with their wings flapping up to 200 times per second to keep it all going.  Every time Vaughn thinks about giving up she sees in some form or another, a hummingbird and she knows it’s a sign from Carla to keep going.

Vaughn plans to donate a percentage of proceeds to various foundations focused on pediatric and women’s cancer including The Scarlett Elizabeth James Foundation and Cook for Your Life, in honor of her cousin, Allison Hall Nelson.