A red-hot event is set to fire up the Sunshine Coast for the first time.
The inaugural Sunshine Coast Chilli Festival will be held, alongside the 33rd Great Australian Dunny Race, at Aussie World on Saturday, March 18.
The festival will boast chilli-eating competitions, artisan chilli sauces, novel chilli products, chilli beer, chilli coffee and a range of non-chilli offerings.
The event will be the third stop of a tour by Chilli Festivals Australia. The tour will also stop at Sydney and near Tweed Heads.
“We’ve been celebrating flavour and fire for more than eight years at our events,” organiser Jase O’Connor said.
“We want chilli to be an addition to every meal.”
Mr O’Connor said chilli, quite simply, made people feel good.
“It’s full of vitamins, minerals and the endorphins that are released when you eat chilli are along the same lines as eating chocolate and being in love, so people get addicted to it,” he said.
He said the festival would boast a range of chilli flavours, “from mild to wild”.
“The mildest chilli is the jalapeno, which is similar to capsicum,” he said.
“It’s famous for being stuffed with cheese, crumbed and fried. You can find it almost anywhere.
“But the hottest chilli in the world is the Carolina Reaper.
“If it’s fresh it can make your eyes water and make your lips, tongue and even your fingers burn. It’s insanely hot.
“What some of our sauce guys do is ferment it or cook it with some other chillies in their sauces.”
A range of local products will be at the festival.
“We’re super excited to be able to let them (locals) showcase their products at a dedicated chilli festival on the Sunshine Coast,” Mr O’Connor said.
There will be chilli-eating competitions, including a hot chip challenge, chilli corn competition, fresh chilli chomp and chilli dog championship.
“Unlike most other eating competitions, our contestants stand up so they get a little chilli dance going after a few mouthfuls and then they really start to shake and shimmy,” Mr O’Connor said.
Prospective competitors can sign up at the chilli info tent.
The festival will boast 300 sauces and many unique products, including tandoori jerky, chilli lime peanuts and spicy kangaroo salami.
It will be $2 to enter the festival, with profits going to Rural Aid.
“We’ve been putting chilli festivals in flood-affected regions for years,” Mr O’Connor said.
“It’s important for us to hand over funds to them (Rural Aid) to distribute it where it’s most needed.”
The Great Australian Dunny Race will also return to Aussie World.
The race will be held in front of the Banana Bender Pub and the winners will share in a $5000 cash prize.
For more information see Chilli Festivals Australia and Aussie World. To enter the dunny race, see Banana Bender Pub.
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