Hospitality Business Magazine

Hot sauce lovers can rejoice at the return of the New Zealand Hot Sauce Festival set to tantalise their taste buds on May 26 – 27, at Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen.

Since its inaugural event in 2016, the fiery line up at the festival has included hundreds of hot sauces from New Zealand’s top producers, including Fire Dragon Chillies, Gringo Killer, Culley’s, Alderson’s, Frank’s Red Hot and more.

The event began when Fire Dragon Chillies creator Clint Meyer brought his love for all things hot sauce to old school friend Mark Jackson, owner of Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen. The event was the first of its kind in New Zealand, and the pair hoped for more than just a lukewarm response; with earlybird tickets for the R18 event already sold out for 2018, it’s fair to say the event is hot property.

Chilli heads can enjoy take-home purchase of all hot sauces at the festival, including access to six World Hot Sauce Award Champion winning sauces, alongside fiery cocktails and a spicy smokehouse food menu created especially for the festival. For taste buds in need of a break, Sweat Shop’s brewed on-site craft beer will provide welcome relief, with their IPA and pale ale touted as the best matches for the heat of a chilli.

This year, the two-day event packs more punch than ever, hosting a popular homemade hot sauce competition, world record chilli eating attempts for the Guinness Book of Records, and the Chilli Chompers Global Hot Sauce awards. The ever-popular 8^th annual New Zealand Chilli Eating Championships final featuring the world’s hottest chilli, the Carolina Reaper, will also return to Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen’s festival. Tickets are limited and available only on EventFinda.

2018 NZ’s Hottest Festival Producer List