EventsChilli competition to heat up 2022 Childers Festival

Chilli competition to heat up 2022 Childers Festival

chilli competition
Mark and Nat Albert of Childers Fine Foods.

Childers Festival is heating up this year with the addition of a Chilli Wing Eating competition which will be held as part of festival day on Sunday 31 July.

Childers Fine Foods is the business behind the heat with owners Mark and Nat Albert growing the hottest chilli in the world, the Carolina reaper.

This year is the first time the family-owned and operated business will take part in Childers Festival, with the couple looking forward to the opportunity.

“We are very excited and looking forward to the festival this year as it will be great for the area and great for the people,” they said.

“We have been three years in the making of growing our chillies and defining our recipes and this is a big challenge for us, but certainly an exciting challenge as it will be the biggest audience to try our sauces.

“While we do sell all over Australia, having so many people here in Childers provides a great opportunity to get our product into the public eye which is very exciting.”

The couple, who moved to Childers from Sydney’s inner west, decided to use their love for cooking, their horticultural qualifications and passion for all things home grown to produce the finest quality Carolina reaper chillies in Australia.

After travelling around the country for months in search of the perfect conditions, they found themselves at home in Childers.

“Childers provides a great environment to grow the chillies as we have the beautiful rich red volcanic soil which is full of minerals and no matter what you put in the ground it grows beautifully,” the duo said.

“We also have a fantastic climate as we rarely get frosts which makes it perfect for growing.

“We could have called the business anything but we love showcasing the name Childers, and what is in these bottles and packaging is what comes out of this great area.

“We have seen a lot of Queensland and Childers drew us back as the people are great and the countryside is great.”

The range of products available include everything from sauces for the family dinner table, right through to sauces that will challenge how much heat you can handle.

“Our Carolina reaper chillies are the base of all our sauces,” they said.

“We start with a very mild ketchup and barbecue sauce, which we refer to as our family table sauce, and then we ramp all the way up to a sauce that is basically unbearable, but people do love it.

“We have a variety of jerky as well so we have something for everyone.”

chilli competition
A range of products available from Childers Fine Foods.

Visitors to the festival will have the chance to try the products at the Childers Fine Foods stall on festival day.

“We will have a stall on the festival day which will showcase all of our products and we will be doing tastings to give people a chance to challenge themselves to see how hot they can handle,” they said.

“We will have a range of specials as well as the product used in the chilli wing competition will be available for everyone to try.”

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The Chilli Wing Eating Competition will be held on the Paverock Quarry stage comprising of two rounds, amateur and professional.

Competitors are set with the challenge to eat 10 chicken wings in 10 minutes.

Amateurs are provided with wings smothered in ‘Kiss the Reaper’ chilli sauce (10/10 on the heat spectrum), while professionals will receive five covered in sauce and five coated with
Carolina Reaper chilli powder, for a more refined experience.

Mark and Nat said as the heat will be on, they encourage people to practice eating chilli ahead of the competition.

“I would say practice eating chilli, get yourself started off low and ramp your way up slowly.

“The amateur level will be a very short and sharp, not so hot but it will still be challenging and then the professional side will see a variety in the way the wings are cooked, along with a few surprises at the end.

“We are going to have a chilli candy and a shot glass of sauce to finish it off and wash it down so to speak.”

Register to take part in the competition here.

You can find out more about Childers Fine Foods here.

Other stories: Kate Ceberano headlines 2022 Childers Festival

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