by AMANDA WINTERS

Sequim Gazette

A jar of blackberry syrup made in Sequim by a local couple ended up in Paula Deen’s kitchen.

The southern cooking queen’s kitchen is featured in an article on organization in the January 2012 issue of Good Housekeeping and there’s no mistaking the label on the bottle of syrup in the front of a drawer.

Jack and Evie Clapp, who own Sequim Valley Products, said a friend told them about the photo but they had to buy the magazine to see it for themselves.

Sure enough, among the Jiff peanut butter, Ocean Spray Craisins and other food items in Deen’s kitchen are Sequim Valley Products’ blackberry syrup and spiced pecan pancake mix.

“We have no idea how she got it,” Evie Clapp said.

The Clapps sell their syrup, pancake mixes, jams and pie fillings at the Port Angeles Farmers Market and the Old Post Office in Carlsborg. They also have a website, www.sequimvalleyproducts.com, where people can order items.

They started their business in the summer of 2000 with 15 jars at the Port Angeles Farmers Market. They sold out in an hour.

Now, they make 10 kinds of syrup and 10 varieties of jams from Washington berries, eight varieties of pancake mixes and four kinds of pie filling.

They call themselves “working retired,” he a retired pastor and she a retired preschool teacher, both doing what they must to survive.

Jack Clapp said aside from Sequim Valley Products they also make funnel cakes almost every weekend in the summer at local festivals and events. He also sells life insurance through Farmers Insurance Group and a free-to-download smart phone app called Phone Swipe, which allows users to swipe credit cards through their phones so they can take cards anywhere.

Jack Clapp said he doesn’t know what the photo will mean for their business, but he’d like to send Deen a basket of their products to thank her for featuring them in her kitchen.

“For this week, this is the highlight of our week,” Jack Clapp said, laughing.

Reach Amanda Winters at awinters@sequimgazette.com.