(thanks to Eat like a Girl for this photo…you never even saw the heat coming…)
When it comes to foodie thrills, it is hard to beat that slow but steady build up of heat on your taste buds that can only come from a full chilli onslaught. It builds and it builds and then bang, it rages and you think “why the hell…?!” and you take a hit of cheese or milk to cool it down. But the reprieve is only temporary. A brief, cool space. It creeps back and the tempo rises again. In your brain the chilli has unleashed a stream of endorphins that create that pleasure/pain scenario which is so damn moreish.
So you relent. Fight fire with fire. Spoon in hand and into the chilli again. It’s addictive and you can’t stop. Onwards and upwards into seventh heaven:
“In that great crystal which doth bear the name of the earth’s ruler through that golden age when every evil left the temperate land, I saw a ladder. To so great a height it rose that not my eager straining sight could follow, coloured like reflected gold; and on its steps were splendours manifold, ascending and descending.”
Dante may not have been talking about chilli heat when he conceived the Divine Comedy, but it’s a good enough fit for me!
The current chilli champions are Wahaca. It’s not just an ingredient, it’s a way of life. The excellent Wahaca blog is full of chilli-related goodness, especially Tommi Miers’ chilli recipe competition which provoked a veritable wildfire of chilli-related recipes from readers.
Here at Bibendum we like hot stuff. We like growing things. And we love the food at Wahaca. Put all these things together and it can only be a chilli growing competition. The kind folks at Wahaca have provided us with some Serrano chilli seeds, we have sorted out some specially stickered pots, and the challenge is on!
(The tools to do battle, courtesy of Wahaca)
(The all new ‘when I grow up I want to be hot’ pot)
Over the next few months Bibendum staff will be nurturing, watering and whispering their home or deskbound chilli plants to see who can grow the bushiest, hottest and quickest chillis. Then we’ll be testing their recipe skills as they mirror Tomasina’s recipe competition to come up with the best chilli-infused match for the stupendous Mexican red wine from Estapor Venir. Prizes, adulation and general wonderment all round for the winner…oh and some very hardy taste buds too. We’re going to pot up shortly and get this thing going…more piccies soon.
(My chilli plant at home – before the white flies struck…)
On Tuesday night at a Guilty Pleasures dinner (read about it here on the Eat Like a Girl blog) I made sleazy cheesy silly chilli nachos (pictured at the top). Small word of warning – do not use 12 fiery chillis and quite a lot of Dave’s Insanity Sauce if you want to pair it with wine! Alois Lageder’s delicious Gewurztraminer came closest to containaing the heat though.
We’d love you to send us your ideas for a chilli dish and wine match too and we’ll feature them on the blog in coming weeks.
Tags: Alois Lageder, Bibendum, chilli, Eat Like A Girl, Estapor Venir, guilty pleasures, Mexico, serrano, wahaca
[...] Wahaca challenges Bibendum to chilli growing competition [...]