Living at the Speed of Heat: Impressions from
the 15^th Annual Fiery-Foods & BBQ Show

by Molly S. Wales

I didn’t know I was a virgin. I get around quite a bit, crossing oceans here and there to rendezvous with everything from truly evil Pizza Diavolo in Naples, Italy to fired-up Red Lentil Soup in Turkey. In my two years in southern Spain, I became notorious amongst the locals for cooking red chile-based meals—courtesy of the dried pods that my mom shipped over—which left the Spaniards somewhere between tortured and happily addicted (keep in mind that cinnamon gum makes them sweat). And, having grown up on Mexican food, I felt quite cultured, quite educated. I felt, in general, "experienced" in the world of fiery-foods. But I was wrong. Ignorant, innocent, and dead wrong.

Imagine living your whole life in, let’s say, Kotzebue, Alaska. Then one day you find yourself, without warning, in the middle of New York City on New Year’s Eve. That same disbelief, excitement, terror… That same "Surprise!" happened to me at the 15^th Annual Fiery-Foods & BBQ Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, Albuquerque is my home. And Dave DeWitt (the Pope of Peppers and ring-leader of this event) is my boss. So, in other words, I was feeling "in my element," kind of cool even. But I know now that nothing, save prior exposure, could have prepared me for the sounds, colors, flavors and over-all sensory stimulation which saturated the Convention Center (and me) like a chip left too long in the salsa.

Let me try to set the scene: You walk through the doors and hear screams. Not squeals—screams. Original Juan is taking photos for their "Pain is Good" contest, in which some lucky screamer will get their face on a label, but you don’t know that yet and so you think someone has eaten a few too many chocolate-covered habaneros and has burst into flames. But no one else around you (and there are hundreds of them) seems concerned, so you take a slow, deep breath and—what was that? Where is that spicy grill-smoke coming from? Suddenly your stomach is in control of your entire body. You are ready to sharpen your elbows and fight your way through the crowd, but luckily you find brisket, sausages and other barbecued goodies at booths all around you. And in between, you find sauces, salsas, sweets, snacks… The pancakes you had for breakfast have vanished and your body is empty of fuel. So you fill it. Heat and beer and more heat. Your tolerance for fiery-foods has never been so high, in fact it seems to be rising! Hours pass and, as if the capsaicin were a necessarily illegal drug, you feel invincible. A lady painted with glitter hands you hot sauce served in a skull but you pause…because your ears are ringing, ringing like the sound of your hefty grandma banging at the rusted steel triangle which used to hang from the porch of the old farm house. Someone next to you says, "Those Cackalacky boys broke a string on their guitar so they brought that thing instead," and you feel great relief that your eardrums aren’t, as you’d thought, melting. A vendor calls out, "Hot! Hot! Hot!" which prompts others to do the same, and soon they are singing like neighborhood dogs. The lights are bright. The air is warm enough for you to don your new "Give Spice a Chance" t-shirt, courtesy of Red Hot Tees. You dip a chip in the skull and smile—how did you get here again? Who cares. Your stomach is full, your blood is on fire, and "double dipping" has gone from a gross habit to an endearing gesture between strangers no longer so strange.

I was a chilehead virgin. But I’m not anymore. I cruised those isles for three days straight, sampling the goods and hearing the stories behind them. Something about this industry attracts a very special group of people who, though they come from places all over the world, are united by a chile-driven sense of adventure. They know how to have a good time. And, above all else, they know how to light your fire.

Below are a few highlights from my personal experience at the Fiery-Foods & BBQ Show. But I can’t really do it justice—so next time you’ll just have to be there.

We’re not talking sugar puff, here. We’re going hardcore, way beyond light indulgence. For example, Colorado Smokehouse’s Sweet Berry Heat sauce combines blackberries and habanero for a sneaky kick that turns boring vanilla ice cream into Florida Spring Break. It’s just that much fun. And it’s versatile, too! On my 143^rd visit to the booth, owners Collin and Ron just happened to be eating breakfast burritos and just happened to offer me some Sweet Berry Heat-enhanced eggs…and it was incredible. Don’t be fooled by the pretty packaging—this stuff kicks.

Along similar yet milder lines, Peppered Palette’s Lemon Vanilla Sauce (the newest addition to the Toad Sweat line) was not only excellent atop ice cream, but also promised to make a good alternative to honey on, for example, sopaipillas. And the Key Lime sauce was great in beer. That’s right, beer. Don’t ask me how they figured that out, but I tried a sample-cup of the mixture and it was truly refreshing. Imagine, one sauce for ice cream, beer, and deep-fried bread. You gotta love this business.

This is a broad category, which seems to ever be growing broader. For what actually qualifies as a snack? Deb’s Delights’ Hot Asparagus Niblets were snack-like in their size, while Arizona Pickles’ Pickle Del Fuego was big enough to be an entire meal yet was portable and mess-less, like any good snack should be. The options were clever and endless, but the most exciting for me was definitely Arizona Chile Roasters’ new Zesty Dried Fruit. Seasoned with, as owner Robert Slater called it, a "zesty powder," these dried fruits and legumes hit the atomic g-spot. Who knew that dried bananas could ever be revived?

Salsa is back. Not that it ever went anywhere… But it’s back anyway with some really fun new twists. For example, Mark & Clyde’s MinneSalsa is micro-brewed, which allows the heat to be hyper-controlled and thereby produces a fresh salsa that’s shelf stable. And it’s delicious too (especially the Black Bean & Corn). Or, for a salsa that’s never heat-processed, Lowco Salsa is a fresh, all-natural tomatillo salsa that had the ticket-takers coordinating their breaks hours in advance, to give them each sufficient time for sampling.

And don’t forget, every good salsa needs a good chip! Otiska Salsa’s Guacamole Corn Chip maintains the timeless perfection of this staple while throwing in real guacamole flavor.

Let’s just put it this way: When Craig from Austin Spice Company hands you some of his famous brisket wrapped in a warm tortilla, you have officially lived. When he later catches you taking a breather in the hallway and hands you a steaming fish taco, you have died and been reborn.

Similarly life changing was Pig Boy Willy’s Famous Carne Adovada Mix. I must admit that I wasn’t previously a carne adovada fan, but I was converted with my first of many tastes. Quite a few of those packets managed to make their way into my cupboard, where they wait for warm weather and it’s ensuing barbecues. If I didn’t have friends before, I’ll have them after a meal a la Pig Boy Willy.

And don’t forget Daddy Sam’s, the one-year-old company run by Kyle Oglesby and his two daughters. Their Bar-B-Que Sawce came in second only to their jarred Cowboy Baked Beans, which were a classy and welcomed alternative to the usual canned, is-that-really-edible kind. The best part, though, is the family history, complete with a grandfather who mortgaged his horse and married the girl from the general store. Now that’s barbecue.

There were some exciting ethnic influences in this year’s batch, including Gourmet Central’s Wasabi-Spiced Applesauce and Disaster Bay Chillies’ Exotic Masala Sauce and Spicy Kasoundi. Spice makes the world go ‘round!

Caribbean Temptations officially defied seasonal boundaries—mix their Almond Lemonade with a little rum and you can have respite from a long, cold winter.

Melinda’s caught a lot of attention with their show poster, and followed up with a wide and exciting selection of products, including the Fire Roasted Habanero & Garlic Hot Sauce and Red Savina Hot Sauce, which both debuted at the show.

And—believe it or not—the fiery-foods industry might just be moving uptown. Between the many organic products, Insane Dave’s new line of gourmet foods, and Mick’s Peppourri’s new Wine Jellies (including Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet), things seem to be getting pretty fancy around here. I’m not worried, though. If ever there was an all-encompassing industry, it’s this one. Come change, come expansion, come everything unforeseen, the fire will be maintained.

As guest chef Alex Garcia from the Food TV Network said, after cooking up Red Snapper with Coconut Milk (see Guest Chef Recipes) and throwing beautiful South American chiles to the audience, "Everyone in New York was so excited for me because they’d been here, and they said, ‘Those people are crazy!’ We were amazed by how many hot sauces and other items there were…but mostly we were amazed by the passion of the people."

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