toledoblade.com --

If you're channel surfing next week and come across a no-holds-barred boxing match between a ketchup bottle puppet and a salsa jar puppet - Rock 'em Sock 'em style - it's OK. Nothing to fear. It's just a documentary.

Behind the uppercuts and body blows is a lighthearted look at ketchup - its history and evolution and the drama over condiment supremacy in the United States.

And behind all that is Tom Zapiecki, the producer and director of Ketchup: King of Condiments, a nearly 30-minute documentary that will premiere at 8 p.m. Tuesday on WBGU-TV, Channel 27, in Bowling Green.

"It all stemmed from the fact that in Bowling Green we had a Heinz plant and a lot of people still fondly remember that," said Mr. Zapiecki, 42, who lives in Grand Rapids and works for WBGU-TV.

The ketchup complex closed years ago, he said, but his investigation into it led to a greater fascination with ketchup that almost got out of hand. Just take a look around his office, home to a giant inflatable ketchup bottle and three paintings of ketchup, in addition to the condiment itself

"I kind of decided to go nuts with the ketchup," he said. "I had no idea there was ketchup art and ketchup collecting could be so addicting."

The documentary follows the development of ketchup from its origins as a 17th Century Chinese sauce similar to soy sauce to English versions that could be made from mushrooms, walnuts, or beans. Tomatoes weren't introduced into the mix until around 1800.

In making the production, Mr. Zapiecki took his show on the road, interviewing people about their love of ketchup at places like the Wood County Fair and a summer festival in Collinsville, Ill., home to the World's Largest Catsup Bottle. (The documentary explores the different spellings of the word as well.) The town's 170-foot-tall bottle - the community's water tower - was built in 1949 and can hold 100,000 gallons of water.

"That I turned into a family vacation, with some resistance from the kids," said Mr. Zapiecki, a father of four. "I made them walk around with equipment helping me out and they didn't appreciate that too much."

The low-budget documentary includes a Detroit ketchup collector and provides a peek inside the H.J. Heinz Co. plant in Fremont, which produces the equivalent of more than 4 million 14-ounce bottles of ketchup each day.

Gregg Gerber, manager of human resources at the plant, said he plans to use the documentary as part of the orientation process.

"It will help people understand what ketchup is, how it's developed, and tell the story of production," he said.

But to call ketchup king of condiments, one has to contend with salsa. In 2003, salsa sales topped $639 million while ketchup lagged behind at $489 million. But by volume, ketchup sales were more than double those of salsa.

Pam Wigley, communications manager for the H.J. Heinz Co., said there's no real animosity between the two condiments.

"We just always like to say they both have a great place on the shelf in your refrigerator or on your countertop," she said.

The mustard people, though, they're a different story.

"The people at the mustard museum [in Mount Horeb, Wis.] were very eager for me to present their side of the issue," Mr. Zapiecki said. "They said if I wanted to do a documentary on a real condiment that I should contact them."

Contact Ryan E. Smith at:
ryansmith@theblade.com
or 419-724-6103.

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