UK Chilli Festivals

Over the past couple of years the UK has seen a rapid expansion in the number of Chilli Festivals taking place throughout the summer months.  The West Dean Festival is by far the largest with a footfall of around 20,000 people and over 100 stalls.  It has been going since 1995 and now attracts visitors from all over the world, not least to see the 300 different varieties of chillies that are grown in their gardens.  Other large and well-established festivals include Great Dorset and Fiery Foods in Brighton.  Recent newcomers on the scene are the highly successful North East Festival at Seaton Delaval and Eastnor Castle in Ledbury, and several cities are getting in on the act, including Birmingham and Manchester.  This year there have been as many as 25 individual festivals taking place across the country.

Typically a Chilli Festival will involve a multitude of cookery and gardening demonstrations and tastings with the UKs growing number of chilli producers and retailers promoting their wares.  It is truly inspiring in the current economic climate to see the imaginative and creative entrepreneurial spirit that exists in the chili retail community, with young people just starting out and semi-retirees all coming together in their passion for the humble chilli pepper. You can buy hot sauces, chilli jams jellies and chutneys, relishes and marinades, nuts and crisps, chilli chocolate, chilli ice cream, chilli cheese, chilli beers and almost any chilli product you could possibly imagine!

If it gets too hot for you, or you need to cool your mouth down after the tastings, there will always be a beer tent and often local ciders and fruit drinks will be on sale.  Hungry?  Every type of spicy food you fancy will be available from Mexican to Indian and you will sometimes find a Caribbean food stall offering Curry Goat or Jerk Chicken.

All of this is usually taking place to a background of music and entertainment from Rock Bands to Gospel Choirs.  You might even spot the odd foodie celebrity, and ex Masterchef contestants are often found running the food stalls or giving cookery demonstrations.  The climax of the event is usually the Chilli Eating competition, which has to be seen to be believed, as a group of kamikaze volunteers consume a variety of fresh chillies, gradually working their way up the Schoville Scale, with the winner being the last man or woman standing.  Often it takes some seriously  hot potions to separate out the last few macho contestants.

So, if this has whetted your appetite you can find the next Chilli Festival near you by checking out the upcoming events on the Chile Foundry or Chile Festival listings.  Go on, give it a go!  You won’t regret it.