Simpson’s Seeds – Day of Fire and Spice – Saturday 25th May

by Thelurch on May 20, 2013 · 0 comments

in Events

Now where can you enjoy a Fruity Frog and a Horny Goat? Well, of course where else but at Simpson’s Seeds Day of Fire and Spice this Saturday, May 25th at the Walled Garden Nursery in Horningsham.

The family run business specialises in all things chilli, but on this very special day they will be hosting some of the West Country’s finest spice traders, including the Upton Cheyney Chilli Company who are from Bath, with their chilli sauces, oils and chocolates, from Herefordshire, Ambalamba Spices and East Woodlands based Deer’s Leap Chillies, all the guests have won awards for the tasty treats.

mattsimpsonThe company has produced a huge range of chilli plants for sale on the day, following the company’s motto of “putting flavour first”. Last summer, the ‘Horny Goat’ won best mild chilli sauce, there are many others availiable on the day, for those wanting very hot, there is a special one called ‘Sillius Soddus’. Matt’s sauces have proved to be a real winner, with some of them gaining appreciation society pages on facebook! 

That sauce is Megalodon, which has been reviewed here.

Simpson’s Seeds are located in the old kitchen gardens at Longleat, but don’t go into Longleat to get there, the entrance is through the village of Horningsham.
More directions can be found on the Simpsons Seeds website

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Eastnor Castle Chilli Festival 5th & 6th May 2013 Reviewed

by Lady Cin on May 19, 2013 · 0 comments

in Chilli Event Reviews

Tucked away between the idyllic Cotswolds and the beautiful Welsh Marches lies the quaint Eastnor Castle. This year, the bank holiday left the gorgeous weather and the Chilli festival thriving with activity.

The Castle gates opened at 11am to the general public, big hats and suncream on hand. A short walk through the grounds led you past the enchanting notes from Pantasy Steel band, playing some great tunes for every set of ears.

The Castle courtyard held over 40 stalls from the usual sauce makers, sellers, distributors like Hot-Headz, The Chilli Pepper Company, Mr Vikki’s, Wiltshire Chilli Farm, Grim Reaper foods, Bim’s Kitchen, The Mini Jar Company, and Fire Foods to name a few. Along with these lovely folk there were several food stalls selling Churros, various hot and cold meals suitable for every taste, vegetarian, vegan and the meat fiends alike. A beer tent and other beverage sellers to quench thirst were also standing tall and seemed very popular. 

The fantastic weather drew twice as many patrons in comparison to last year’s show. The Clifton Chilli Club hosted a chilli eating competition on both the Sunday and Monday, bringing a large crowd to the lawn to watch the madness that ensued. 

It certainly made for some great entertainment and the whole crowd joined in cheering. Los Squideros played a few sets in their bright and happy red outfits, singing a mix of Mexican tunes and classics we all know and love.

Of course there was the castle to explore itself, open to the public to wander in and out as they please. There was a Chilli trail and a cookery theatre for the younger audiences. Whilst I wasn’t able to catch the cookery demonstrations on Indian cuisine and Egyptian mezze, I heard nothing but good things and was told numerous times that it was a great set to watch for inspiration and ideas.

All in all, the Eastnor Chilli Festival, in my opinion, was a great success. The day was beautiful, the stalls were varied and plentiful.There was something there for everyone to see and do, and the entertainment was a great crowd pleaser. Many happy people (except those suffering the effects of the chilli eating competition) left the festival that evening, with bags of goodies and smiles on their faces. 

I look forward to next year as I’m told it is only going to get bigger!

 

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South Devon Chilli Farm – Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce

by Thelurch on May 17, 2013 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

The South West of England has a large percentage of the UK Chilli Farms, it must be the quality of the soil and the warmer micro climate that lends itself to growing chillies! One of the most established is South Devon Chilli Farm based in Loddiswell, Devon. They have two sites, a large range of products, an onsite café and a visitor friendly Polytunnel. Here we have their Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce.

This sauce is very appealing to the eye, the bright white label contrasting against the deep orange translucent liquid behind. The liquid looks like orange marble, and has small pieces of garlic and lots of dried red chilli.

Ingredients:

Sugar, Cider Vinegar, Garlic, Dried Chilli (1%), Fresh Habanero (1%)

Bottle kindly supplied by South Devon Chilli Farm

It has the very familiar aroma of a Thai Sauce, I am surprised the ingredients list is so short and simple. It is very strong garlic flavour which is great as long as you are not a vampire!

This is quite a mild sauce although the label says Medium heat, and as with all chilli products there should be a good balance between the two.

There are a lot of Sweet Chilli Sauces out there and too many taste of vinegar but this is different, the sugar seems to be able to hide the aggressiveness of the cider vinegar.

Another common trait of these sauces is a high seed content, and this particular sauce only has the odd one or two. Given that chilli seeds contain no capsaicin and if not cooked enough can be a little unpleasant to crunch on.

This sauce would be great as a dipping sauce or as a glaze for any meat due to the high sugar content.

Available from the South Devon Chilli Farm website for £3.57

Flavour
(8/10)
Heat
(4/10)
Packaging
(7/10)
Value (7/10)
Overall
(7/10)

 

 

 

 

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Dartmoor Chilli Farm – Beast of Dartmoor Hot Chilli Sauce

by Clare Cameron on May 15, 2013 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

The first thing I noticed about the Beast of Dartmoor Hot Chilli Sauce from Phil and Kay Palmer of Dartmoor Chilli Farm was its bold packaging; I love the contrast of the black and red background, the striking white font and last but not least the menacing black beast with its red eyes and sharp white teeth.

The back of the label tells the buyer how it was produced. The four crucial points are as follows:

  • Homegrown Chillies
  • No Pesticides
  • No Herbicides
  • Green-Energy Farm

I was really happy to read this as these days there are so many artificial, mass made products on the market I sometimes dread to think what goes in my food!

Opening the bottle I am greeted with the sweetness of the apples, along with the sharpness of the cider vinegar and the bite of Naga Chillies. It has a great punchy flavour and the use of the apples and cider vinegar compliments the Naga chilli and creates a sauce which is different to the norm.

I found it went really well with potato wedges although I normally prefer a thicker dipping sauce its great flavour made me comprise my usual demand for a thicker consistency.

Ingredients:

Red Peppers, Apples, Sugar, Tomatoes, Naga Chillies, (8%) Cider Vinegar, Tomato Juice, Lemon Juice, Citric Acid

The website says the following about the sauce:

 Made with Bhut Jolokia chillies this has a serious kick yet still leaves your taste buds able to enjoy the tomatoes, sweet peppers and bramley apples.

I couldn’t agree more with this statement, it really sums up what the sauce is all about. It has that instant hit of chilli but is combined with these lovely flavours which are enhanced by the chilli whilst not being overpowered by it.

I can see why this product is the best selling of all the Dartmoor Chilli Farm Products,

To find out more check out the Dartmoor Chilli Farm where this is available to buy for £4 or as part of their 3 for £10 offer

(This product was first reviewed by us in 2010, but with the old label design)

Flavour
(7.5/10)
Heat
(7.5/10)
Packaging
(8/10)
Value (7/10)
Overall
(7.5/10)

 

 

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