by Gareth Groves
It has been three months since the last chilli update and the (relatively) good weather the UK has enjoyed since April has been perfect for chilli growing. A few of our contenders have fallen by the wayside but four of our growers have powered on into the final. Their task (having qualified by growing an actual real Wahaca chilli from seed) was to write a Mexican-inspired recipe that included their chillies and to come up with the perfect wine match.
By pure coincidence, our finalists have come up with a very well-balanced menu. I might just have to get them to come in and cook the recipes for us to enjoy…
Our starter would be James’s Spinach Gaz-Poncho – a Spanish-influenced chilled-but-fiery soup that he pairs with La Gitana Manzanilla.
The main course would be Jeremy’s Stuffed Peppers with Salsa de Jitomate & Frijoles refritos washed down with some Mexican Estapor Venir. On the side, we’d be tucking into Willie’s Proper Guacamole which he suggests enjoying with “Agustinos Syrah Rose 2009 or Chateau d’Esclans Rose if money less of an object!!! YUM!”
Finally, dessert and Richard (pictured above) came up with a Chilli Chocolate Mousse with Mango to be served alongside Valdivieso’s Eclat Botrytis Semillon. Hope he didn’t use those particular chillies from the photo.
The team at Wahaca are choosing which recipe will be the winner – watch this space for more news. You’ll be the first to know. Promise.
In the meantime, here are a few pictures telling the story of how we started last September with some seeds, a bag of all-purpose compost and a whole lot of hope and ended up ten months later with our four very worthy finalists…
(The books arrive!)
(“When I grow up I want to be hot!”)
(Life! On our desks!)
(This growing lark is easy….)
(…or maybe not.)
(Finalist Jeremy reveals his secret: regular watering with A2O Albarino. Is that allowed?)
(A chilli! On a suspiciously dead-looking plant…Alex tries to cheat his way into the final.)
(A chilli! A real one. No cheating here. Full marks to Kyle.)
(Harvest time. What a haul from Willie – but will his proper Guacamole win the big prize?)
Tags: Bibendum, bibendum staff, food and wine, wahaca, wahaca chilli
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bibendum, Fiona Cochran. Fiona Cochran said: When I grow up I want to be hot…!! Check out the results of the Bibendum and Wahaca chilli competition: The Finalists http://bit.ly/91TSTt [...]