Mar 18 / Devan

Araluen’s Fremantle Chilli Festival 2010

Pain and laughter, tastebuds on fire, hiccuping, grim faces, and nursed stomachs.

Appropriate words to describe Araluen’s Fremantle Chilli Festival, this year held for the first time in Fremantle. A venue change was necessary, as the festival had outgrown its original home in Roleystone. Into its seventh year, the Chilli Festival has soared in popularity attracting chilli growers, chilli fanatics, and intrigued chilli virgins willing to give it a go.

Chilli Pasilla Bajio

Chilli Long Sweet Green

Chilli Naga Morich and Chilli Dorset Naga plants

Last weekend hundreds of people crowded around the 75 stalls to get their hands on chilli dips, sauces, pickles, chutneys, fudge, and hot food. Simmo’s ice cream van was making a killing in sales, with Simmo scooping through several tubs of ice cream for the sweaty, red-faced, and exhausted chilli goers who were in need of a quick cool remedy.

We went through all 75 stalls at least 5 times each, eating sugary Portuguese donuts, Nandos chicken, chilli con carne, cupcakes, oysters, and curry pies. Crema coffee was our saviour, providing us with full cream coffees, and chilli and mint hot chocolates to relieve the burning sensation.

Chilli con carne

Crema Coffee

When we needed a break from all things chilli, we chilled out in the licensed area sculling down beers and ales. Towards the end of the night we went taste testing, dipping chips into mild, medium, hot, and extra hot dips at various stalls. We even tried the Naga Jolokia chilli, the hottest chilli in the world. My mate Steve was sweating like he just got out of a sauna. I was hiccuping like crazy. But it was all in good fun. The ring of fire was inevitable.