IMPRESSIONS FROM THE 18th ANNUAL
NATIONAL FIERY-FOODS & BARBECUE SHOW          Page  2 of 2   Go to Page 1

MARCH 3-5, 2006          Photos and story by Harald Zoschke 

Bring in the Crowds!

While the morning hours of all three show days were trade-only, the afternoons were open to the public. Already an hour before admission, long lines of fireseekers snaked through the Casino Resort lobby to the Events Center. Once inside, there was plenty to sample and to buy.

Chiles Everywhere

 No chilehead was too young to sample hot & spicy products, like here at Captain Thom's from Baltimore, Maryland.

Also a great opportunity for El Pinto to serve samples of New Mexican chile stew cooked with their own salsa, and to promote their famous restaurant in Albuquerque. If you haven't been there yet, eat at El Pinto's next time, that place is great. 

 I was pleased to meet "Peppahead" Larry Noggle. We're sort of soulmates, as both of us create chile calendars and share the love for growing peppers and taking pictures of them. Larry's calendar supply was depleted quickly. Look out for his phantastic 2007 calendar.

Monica, a student at NMSU, had no problem selling lots of the Chile Pepper Institute's chile plants. 

Sweet Surprise

 Pure peppers were also the theme with Cajohn this year. He created a line of sauces that are basically purees of one particular chile variety each, including Cayenne, Jalapeno, Habanero, Chipotle, Serrano, and Fatalii. John is also the guy who acquired our Suncoast sauce line five years ago when we moved back to Germany.

Hot pods were also featured on this hot T-shirt by Excel. 

Hot & Spicy Cooking Demos

 What do CIA's Chef Jim Heywood, Pepperworld's myself and Austin Spice's Craig Barton have in common? Every year we celebrate our birthday at the Fiery Foods Show! Once more, Dave's lovely wife and show co-producer Mary Jane surprised the trio with a delicious, chile decorated b-day cake, created by the Candy Lady. Thanks!!!

Here's MJ cutting the cake, which we shared with many of our friends. 

The cooking demos are a highlight at every Fiery Foods Show, and the new Sandia location offered a nice stage separate from the exhibits. Also, new video equipment gave the audience great insight into what was cooking.

As always, Dave provided an interesting mix of guest chefs:

Jim Heywood (Professor at the Culinary Institute of America)

Patrick Hancock (Executive chef at the El Pinto restaurant in Albuquerque)

Ray Lampe (Dr. BBQ, winner of many BBQ contests and author of 
Dr. BBQ's Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook)

Keith Coleman (Culinary Arts Department at Albuquerque Technical 
Vocational Institute).

Steve Collins from santa Fe, author of the award-winning cookbook, Grilling and Smoking with The Home Chef, and the upcoming cookbook, Sizzle and Smoke.

"Home Chef" Steve Collins (pictured above) prepared Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Habañero Plum Sauce.

 Here's Fiery Foods & BBQ magazine's associate editor Gwyneth Doland, getting the baked chicken thighs with the stuffing on top out of the oven.

The spicy habanero plum sauce was a perfect match. 

 Dr. BBQ demonstrated that he's not only the master of meat but also capable of dishing up great desserts. He baked Bread Pudding with Tequila Sauce.

Ray also created a great appetizer, Margarita Shrimp and Avocado Quesadilla. 

Pepper People

As with all dishes cooked during the demonstrations, samples were served to the audience.

 And like all chefs on stage, Dr. BBQ was available after his presentation to answer questions. He also signed his book. And he's working on a new one: Barbecue All Year Long, available May 2006.

In case I woke your appetite, you can find all guest chef recipes here!

Barbecue Questions?

Ray also answers your
smoking and grilling questions
on this site - see Ask Dr. BBQ

 The show offered opportunity for us to meet Dave's partners in his magazine, Pioneer Communications, Inc. from Des Moines, Iowa. From left to right, that's Jim Slife (CEO), Steve Seemann (Art Director), and right of me, Rick Thomas (President). It was great to meet the people who are doing such a great job publishing our favorite hot & spicy magazine.

With its catchy cover, the show issue of Fiery Foods & BBQ magazine was flying off the shelf.

 Meanwhile, exhibitors like Craig Barton of Austin Spice Company were busy raking in the big bucks from an attendance that exceeded 14,000 visitors, more than at any previous shows.

Long time exhibitor Hot Shots had a clever idea and provided plastic buckets as shopping baskets.
Also, note the wording
on the T-shirt on top...  

Guys appreciate the fact that this show is also a place to find so many attractive ladies.

 Here at the Hot Shots booth, Big Dave and I are posing with Onawa Lynn Lacy, Miss New Mexico 2006. We weren't surprised to hear that she loves fiery foods a lot. She'd definitely get Dave's and my vote for Miss USA 2006!

A real cutie was Victoria, visiting with her parents from Colorado. What a hot outfit! 

 No problem getting in touch with girls had Danny Cash's Pepperman. His pickup line was probably: "Is it hot in here, or is it just me in my airtight outfit?"

For all who overdosed on the heat, 94ROCK provided free ice cream. The local radio station was also one of the show sponsors. This is my favorite station in town - who else plays Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Rush these days. 

 And while fireman Jim Campbell puts out fires in his main job, he is fanning the flames in his alternative career with Mild to Wild Pepper Co.

From our years as exhibitors at the show, I remember how hard it was to estimate how much product to bring. Early Sunday afternoon, various vendors had no choice but putting a "Sold Out" note in their booth! This show surpassed everyone's wildest expectations. 

That concludes my little photo essay of the 2006 show. Hi and thanks to everyone we met during those exciting three days. Hopefully, those who couldn't make it to the show got an idea what was going on in Albuquerque. The next Fiery Foods Show will be March 2-4, 2007, and we're already making plans. One thing is for sure: We'll be baaack.... see you then!