Third Annual Spicy Foods Tailgate Party heats up the beach
The day was sunny and the atmosphere was hot, hot, hot as dozens of food personalities, chefs and restaurateurs converged at the Third Annual Peppers at the Beach Spicy Food Tailgate Party to vie for awards, set Guinness world records, and demonstrate their ingredients, techniques and love of all things spicy with 1,000 guests. Co-hosts Chip Hearn of Peppers and Roger Marino of Mountaire Farms were elated.
“This is one of the only events of its kind, and it is an incredible success,” says Hearn. “At other shows people pay to sit in a large auditorium and watch chefs cook. Here it is free, and people are face-to-face with the chefs, watching as they put on continuous cooking demos and share their recipes and their saucing and cooking methods, and they get to sample the end results.”
Highlighting the party were five 2012 Mountaire Chicken Delaware State Championship wing contests that drew more than 100 entries from people competing to win for creating the best wings in five categories. Mountaire Farms donated 20,000 of its Juicy Jumbo Party Wings to the entrants. Contest results in each category were based on first- through fifth-place rankings made by at least 20 independent judges chosen from the audience.
Suzanne O’Melia of Suzanne’s Pepper Jelly Heaven Kitchen won first place in the Buffalo-style wings competition with her “Buffalo Wings in Hell;” and Peppers’ own Christina Eastburn won the Most Unusual Wings competition with her “Nutastic PB&J BBQ Wings.”
Northern Virginia’s Wy’s Wings won first place for its Best Restaurant wings, closely followed by Wings to Go in Long Neck in second-place, Timothy’s Tap House and Raw Bar of Rehoboth came in third, and newcomer Charcoal Grill took both fourth- and fifth-place honors. Timothy’s also won for Best Presentation with Chef Jared Martin’s extraordinary “Kamakazi Dragon,” and John Grabiec of Fat Kid Sauces was delighted with his against-the-odds victory in the smoked wings competition - it being his first experience smoking wings.
Guinness world record broken
Excitement grew as Steve “The Machine” Smallwood set out to break the Guinness world record for eating the most ghost peppers in one minute. The prior record holder, from Germany, had consumed three in one minute.
After weighing and synchronizing of timers, with cameras aimed, The Machine broke the record by eating eight chiles (48 grams) in one minute amid cheers and chants of “Let’s go Machine!” and “Go USA!”
The Machine was not done. After taking a break to give live interviews and to sign posters for his fans, he returned to the table to set the first-time record for eating Trinidad Scorpion peppers. The Trinidad Scorpions recently ousted Ghost peppers to become recognized as the hottest peppers in the world. One minute, eight Trinidad Scorpion peppers, 49 grams, and The Machine had set a new world record.
With peppers so hot that people in the audience could feel the heat, and even hardcore chile heads put gloves on before handling them, it is unlikely that anyone will be breaking that record anytime soon.
Hearn says plans are under way for next year’s event and some contestants are already at work on ideas for entries. “I think I know what I’m going to do, but I’m not telling anyone,” says Most Unusual wings winner Eastburn. “I mentioned that I was going to use PB&J this year and suddenly there were close to 10 entries using PB&J. All I will say is that my next wings are going to be incredible.”
More information about the chefs, recipes and products featured at the annual Peppers at the Beach Spicy Foods Tailgate Party is available by contacting Peppers at 302-644-6900 or Peppers.com.
