IMPRESSIONS FROM THE 19th ANNUAL
NATIONAL FIERY-FOODS & BARBECUE SHOW

MARCH 2-4, 2007          Photos and story by Harald Zoschke 

What... another year went by?

Hard to believe it's been six years since we started the first hot shop in Germany! While many of the products we’re offering come from around the globe, we find a good deal of our merchandise at the Annual National Fiery-Foods and Barbecue Show in Albuquerque. And if this intro sounds somewhat familiar, I shamelessly took it from my 2006 report. So here we are again....

For the second year the show was held at its new location, the classy Sandia Resort & Casino Events Center, located at the base of the magnificent Sandia Mountains. A much nicer location than in previous years - very convenient, including plenty of free parking space, and rooms with a gorgeous view.

And as always, with about 200 booths, this little report can only be a sampling of all the exciting stuff we enountered. After 19 years of Dave's unique venue, it is amazing that vendors and manufacturers alike keep coming up with new product and packaging ideas. Or maybe we have just scratched the surface so far...

The Anti-Aging Miracle at the Fiery-Foods & BBQ Show!

 When entering the exhibitor area, one couldn't miss Blair's eye-catching display for his  interesting new "biocap" product line -- anti-wrinkle cream, kicked up with capsaicin, the chemical that makes chiles hot.

The "XS" version promises "Extreme Treatment for Face and Eyes". So far, you had to harrass a police officer to get that treatment ;-)  

In a positive sense of global warming, 
this year's show was more international
than ever. Show sponsor Nando's has a
business in the USA, but their hot sauces
come from South Africa, made with locally
grown Peri-Peri peppers.

While those Peri-Peri peppers are blistering-hot, Nando's line of sauces covers a broad range of heat levels and flavors from mild to fiery.

All the way from the South African headquarters in Johannesburg came Rochelle Schaetzl, Group Product Development Manager and Executive Chef for Nando’s International. Quite appropriate for a casino, Rochelle was spinning a wheel of fortune, with fiery prizes to win. Rochelle gave also a cooking demo with mouthwatering recipes, see here.  

 Originally also from Liberia, Africa, are "Olga and Olga". Their U.S. company Darda, Inc. presented "Olga’s Liberian Fried Pepper." Based on an old family recipe, their blend of habanero peppers, tomatoes, onions and spices was tasty, but also a nice wakeup call early that morning.

Eddy Segbeaya from Togo (see last year's report) was back as well.

Among the exhibitors from the Caribbean was Authentic Products of Barbados, getting me into the mood for a vacation.

 As expected, the NMSU Chile Pepper Institute had the famous Bhut Jolokia on display and for sale. This Indian pepper, thoroughly researched by the CPI, was recently certified by Guinness World Records as the world's hottest - see my report here.
Here's Monica with Jolokia seedlings, while Danise is hugging an advanced plant of this incredibly hot chile.

Clamshell packs of dried 
 Bhut Jolokia pods were  also available - at least for a short time, as they went fast.

Not excactly cheap at 10 bucks for 
about a dozen pods, but that's of course
a matter of demand and supply.

Supply of this superhot "new" pepper, limited supply that is, also dictated availability of Naga/Bih/Bhut Jolokia
powered products at the  show. Still I spotted three manufaturers that had at least some hot sauce available utilizing the Jolokia, getting their foot in the door early.

 First I tried Danny Cash's Naga Sabi Bomb, a fiery mix of Naga Jolokia,  Red Habanero and Wasabi, the green Japanese horseradish.
It smelled so innocent but kept my vanilloid receptors busy for 15 minutes. After cooling down, I tried Cajohns "10". The number refers to the Hards' tenth year in this blistering business, and pepper-wise, the sauce has Fatalii, Red Savina, Orange Habs and ground Jolokia. So I was in for another 15-minute ride...

After cooling down with a cold beer and one of Gator Hammock's famous pork sandwiches, I tried Buddy's Suicide Gator. That's his classic Lethal Gator, kicked up with Naga Jolokia. Nice bite, great flavor, and a good excuse for another cold one.

Expect to see more Naga Jolokia products popping up once the supply situation improves. With heat levels in the one Million Scoville Units range (for dried pods), Naga, Bhut & Co. have the potential to replace oleoresin capsicum (pepper extract) in various superhot sauces and salsas, resulting in better-tasting products without that sometimes bitter extract note.

  Seasoned chileheads know that there are other extremely hot peppers as well, and one of the very hottest is the Chocolate Habanero. Hot Tar "Heat Factor" uses just that - pure choc hab puree and a little vinegar. I loved the intense habanero flavor and the clear heat. And the product name, too.

 Found this bizarre
gathering of "Ass Reapers"
at Hot Shot's booth. Probably more of a collector's item.

Speaking of such, another big ticket at the show were collectibles. Rather than collecting coins or stamps, an increasing number of people finds it more interesting to get their hands on rare hot sauces . This could be either products out of production, certain labels, or "limited editions" -- serialized and hand-signed by the manufacturer, mostly delivered in fancy packaging. Some of these "Special Reserve" products start with a retail price of well over 100 Dollars for a small bottle, yet most of them sell out quickly and show up on eBay for a multiple of their original price tag not much later. Many of these sauces are made with extracts in the multi-million Scoville range. Not really stuff to use in the kitchen, but no one would open such a pricey bottle anyway. Time will tell how the value of such collectibles will develop on the long run. It would certainly help the value if manufacturers would issue those "limited editions" sparingly.

    Such collectors' items were available at the show, too, the most valued pieces well protected in acrylic boxes. Blair's uniquely shaped bottles with the melted-on skull are a classic by now. And with only 200 bottles available worldwide, few bottles were left of Insane Dave's "2006 Holiday Reserve". Some vendors even had limited editions just for this show. 

 With many of the hot sauce manufacturing celebrities on hand, a lot of bottles were  autographed right at the show, like here at Danny Cash's booth.

But not only bottles got signed. Living proof is Randy Teal, hardcore hot sauce collector from Mississippi.

Creative hot sauce ideas from Canada 

 Besides heat, it's of course the flavor that counts. Time and again it amazes me that manufacturers keep coming up with new ideas! Like Denzel's from Canada -- one of their sauces is made with roasted Granny Smith apples, cinnamon and habanero, another one has peppers and roasted peaches.

No less amazing were some new packaging ideas. With his "iHot", Danny Cash most likely created the first stereophonic hot sauce to go. I'd licence it to Steve Jobs, Danny!

 Besides fiery-foods, it's sometimes those little gadgets that make this show so interesting. Here's Melanie (Big Acres) demonstrating the "Fruit Injector". 

Juicing a slice of lime and 
shooting it into your Corona bottle has never been easier.

She also had an interesting line of sauces, including a tasty Mole-style sauce, very close to the Mexican classic.

 Next we found Pepperman and CP Emporiumman wrestling over a giant plush bottle of "Nando's Chickenland Hot Peri-Peri Sauce."  No, not really, they were just nice enough to pose for us.

Inspired by Pepperman, Renate and I looked for sunglasses ourselves, 
and found these cool,
uhm, hot shades .

 The red tint of those chile pepper sunglasses opened a whole new view of the show.  Look! This is what we saw.

Same view with our regular
glasses. We were not halluz-
inating - it was "public hours" by now, and the hall was packed denser than ever. By the time the show was over, more than 14,000 heat seekers were here.

 So it was no wonder we frequently spotted a happy Dave...

When he wasn't busy giving TV interviews, Dave also supervised the cooking demos. His associate editor Gwyneth Doland gave the most entertaining demo. She should really get her own show at the Food Network! She demonstrated a Mole recipe from her brand new book by the same name.  More about the cooking demos and all recipes here 

An excellent way to draw attention to your products is an eye-catching booth display.

Here are two examples that caught my eye:

 Hot Rod Pickles

Klamath River Company

Within the last decade or so, fiery-foods has turned into a multi-billion Dollar industry,  and there's evidence of the new wealth everywhere. As an example, take transportation:

 Back in 2001, Hot Shots' Mike Cates was forced to use this man-powered vehicle.

2007, Mike moves in style, utilizing an electrically powered vehicle, also accommodating a selection of cool, classy beverages.

 Fashion reigned supreme at the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, as evidenced here at Dolores' New Mexico Chile Products' booth.

It has become a nice custom that Miss New Mexico pays the show a visit. We caught charming Christine Hall, with Luther and Chip Hearn, Peppers' charming  father & son duo. No, Chip, you can't take her home to Delaware! 

    Now for a real "dinosaur" of the fiery foods industry, although he doesn't look that old. Meet Chuck Evans of "Montezuma Brand" fame. He's the only one at the 2007 show who has already exhibited at the very first Fiery Foods Show in El Paso, Texas (which then moved to Albuquerque). Also, Chuck created the very first Chipotle Hot Sauce, "Smokey Chipotle". And besides Tabasco, he's the only one who has ever received a product trademark on a pepper name.

Besides this hot sauce classic, Chuck came to fame as Dave DeWitt's co-author on "The Hot Sauce Bible."  I'm glad I bought that book in time, as used copies of this out-of-print book sell for as much as 120 bucks by now!

The good news: Dave and Chuck will team up soon for a revised "Hot Sauce Bible: The Second Testament."  Remember where you heard it first!

Chuck also co-authored the small but interesting Chipotle Pepper Pantry book with Dave (the one he is holding up in the picture).

 A hot sauce hero you rarely hear about is Dennis Martinez of All American Containers, a company supplying the bottles to manufacturers of many sauces in your collection. And salsa jars, too.

Somehow the sauce must be filled into those bottles. Simplex Filler demonstrated a real-life setup of a complete automated filling station.

So far we focused on Fiery Foods, but of course there was also plenty of Barbecue at the show. Barbecue hardware was  on display, grilling gadgets, and of course plenty of sauces, marinades and rubs.

 Lana-Rae Anaya of Woodfield's Patio & Hearth Company showed us the mini version of the "Big Green Egg."  Even that small one is a heavy, solid part. Pros like Dr. BBQ use the big version of this ceramic grill/smoker even in contests.

One trend in barbecue sauces is more chile heat. We caught Mike & Diane at Hot Shots' booth, introducing the new "Extra Hot" barbecue sauce they're making for Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony. A hotter "Ring of Fire" is now available, too.

 S&P Foods added "51st Degree Burn" to their line of barbecue sauces, a fiery hot version of their smoky-sweet Barrel no. 51 BBQ Sauce. On the mild end of their line we spotted a tasty Apricot Ginger Glaze. 

Guest chef and barbecue expert Mike Stines had to turn to the stove for his demos. He also signed his book, Mastering BBQ. More about the cooking demos and all the mouthwatering recipes here.

OK, this is completely unrelated to the Fiery Foods Show, but to finish my little report, here's some other stuff we encountered in the Land of Enchantment this time...

Driving to our all-time favorite ABQ breakfast place, the Frontier Restaurant, we saw our first live Roadrunner when leaving the Sandia Pueblo. He was kind enough to pose for a quick photo out of the car before running away fast.

  Beep beep!

Every year, Dave surprises me with a different kind of beer. Dave's pick this year was Alien Amber Ale from Roswell, New Mexico. Quite appropriate for the 60th anniversary of the "Roswell Incident". And tasty, too.

Dave himself will have a big anniversary next year - The twentieth Fiery-Foods & Barbecue Show is coming up.

See you all then! Meanwhile, keep it hot, and have a great barbecue season.

--Harald