Story & Photos by Harald Zoschke

Q: Where can you find an Insane Guy, a Neurosurgeon and a Fireman in one Place?

A: At the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, of course.

It is hard to believe that it's been 20 years that Dave was foresighted enough to gather manufacturers of
hot & spicy stuff for a trade show -- offering products to buyers, but also sell and sample to the public,
providing a fiery-festive atmosphere and a unique testing ground for new products. I was still in the computer
software business developing and selling programmers' tools while Dave started in El Paso, Texas with 37
exhibitors in 1988. The show was an instant success, and in subsequent years Dave held the event in his new
home town of Albuquerque, right within the "Chile Pepper State" New Mexico. By 1994 the show had
123 exhibitors, and by 1998, the number surpassed 250. But also the number of buyers and public attendees
grew year after year, and by the time the 19th Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue show was over,
more than 14,000 people came visiting just over that one weekend.

My wife Renate and I joined the fiery-foods pro league in 1997, turning hot stuff into our second carreer.
So '97 was our first show, and for the next four years, we became exhibitors ourselves. Later on, with our
Pepperworld Hot Shop, we became buyers instead, enjoying the Fiery Foods & BBQ Shows no less. 

To better understand our passion, take a look at these two trade show settings. Sure, those computer shows like
CeBIT in Hannover, Germany, provided a nice break from the office routine. You be the judge which trade
shows we enjoyed more!

While we missed the first decade of Fiery Foods Shows, we were fortunate enough to catch the past one.
Here's a sampling of random snapshots from these years -- some of the weirdest characters and the most unusual
products that make every single Fiery Foods & BBQ Show a unique adventure. Thanks, Dave & Mary Jane -- you
guys not only created the hottest show on earth (no matter what the circus folks say), but the craziest one as well.
Here's to the next 20 years ;-)

.... Enter the Tasty Twilight Zone at your own Risk.

What an insane industry this is! And no one keeps demonstrating this better than "Insane Dave", who
occasionally  still slips into his trademark straightjacket. After a little incident with his Insanity Hot Sauce, Dave
was temporarily banned from one of the early National Fiery Foods Shows - which helped publicity, of course.
Later on, superhot sauces were only allowed to be sampled on the tip of a toothpick.

On his first Fiery Foods Show, Pfleider Pfoods's presentation went into a similar direction. Tom Pfleider
named his sauce line "Schizophrenic Chipotle" because of its "multiple personalities." After some complaints
(aren't there always people complaining?) he renamed his line to "Art of Chipotle" -  no more I.V. hot sauce!

On one of the early shows we went to, you could spot sweaty red-faced people in the aisles, sporting
stickers reading "I survived The Bread."  Those who tried it for the first time (like me) were in for a surprise,
as one of the ingredients was a hefty dose of Red Savina.. Creator of "The Bread" (and some great sauces)
is Jim Campbell. In his "other job", he's a fireman, working in the hazardous material unit. Any questions?

Over the years we saw many more Funny Costumes, like these here:

Hot enough for ya in that suit? Danny of Danny Cash Hot Sauce persuaded his cousin John to promote his sauces 
as "Pepperman." Wonder if he got paid cash for the job! Sorry for the pun, Johnny...  Next to Pepperman, that's 
my wife Renate meeting Carrotman. And right to that lovely couple, that's Apeman and his guard. Ever wondered
what a real chilehead would look like? Check out Charly (Saucecrafters) as Habaneroman.

But what's Habaneroman compared to the Grim Reaper, or the Devil himself? Next to those scary guys, look
how Ray Lampe  a.k.a. Dr. BBQ spends all the money he's making from  signed book sales at  the shows:
Buying coozies from She-Devil Rachel (tasty Devil Pickles by Roxtar Gourmet).

I must admit that one of my all-time Fiery Foods Show costume favorites was Bernie's (The Gifted Cowboy).
He looked just too funny in that pepper dress, and while some of his booth personell was inflatable, Bernie
also brought in attractive booth babes from the Bunny Ranch in Nevada. OK, that's not really a ranch, but
Bernie's not a real a chile either. His business was of course a line of X-rated hot sauces with names like - oh
no, we can't say that here.

Next to Bernie, witness one of the great moments in Fiery-Foods Show history: Crazy Mary met (Mrs.) Gecko
Gary. Did they discuss which costume was easier to handle in case nature called?

Another costume not too comfy if you forgot your Immodium was that by Original Juan's pepper pal. Probably
nice and hot inside, too.

Don't believe in Santa? Well, we met him at the National Fiery Foods & BBQ Show, show, and he even had his own
booth! Hard to believe, but these nice folks actually grow habaneros and many other hot peppers up in North Pole,
Alaska. And they bottle their own hot sauce, "Red Hot Rudolph". Ho, Ho, Hot! 

Next to the Mr. and Mrs. Santa couple, another strange outfit - I'm talking about the the person to the right, that is.
Cautiontapewoman meeting the Pope of Peppers!

With a huge show floor like Fiery Foods & Barbecue, efficient personal transportation is a must. Here's
Hot Shots' Mike Cates, roaming the aisles on his Lone Star scooter.

Unusual Pepper Products

Every Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show has more than 1,000 products competing for fire and flavor.
But such a show would not be complete with eye-catchers and gag products. Somehow, chiles seem to
ignite creativity, as evidenced by these funny fiery finds ...

Gimmicks always rule supreme with hot sauce. Peppers' "Pick This Hot Sauce" ("Hot it'snot") had
a squeezable nose attached to it - a nice appetizer for every dinner table. Shortly after 9/11, Hot
Sauce Harry's "Bomb Laden" appeared, apropriately dressed up. And Tahiti Joe threw in a handy
paper roll holder with his "Crapper Jon's" hot sauce.

By accident, one of Jim Campbell's sauces came out too hot - almost unbearable. So he filled it
into a beary nice bottle and named it "Unbearable". Probably the most bizarre hot sauce packaging
comes from Blair, though. But also CaJohn demonstrated his creativity with his "Hot Saucer", as
well as "Magma", a sort of sauce that resembles a lava lamp when turned upside down.

My 1st prize for most unusual (and contemporary) hot sauce packaging goes to Danny
Cash, though -- "iHot" is most likely the first (and only) stereophonic hot sauce to go.

Besides hot sauce, other unusual show products so far included spicy peanut butter (as a clever
combo with habanero jelly), the famous 2002 "Global Warming" show shirt with a "No H2O" sign
on the front, and Blair's capsaicin-formulated "biocap" anti-wrinkle cream (too late for me, I guess).

Back to Character Sightings at the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Shows...

Interesting characters could also be found at the Florida Fiery Foods Show, from 1998 til 2000 the Eastern leg
of the National Fiery Foods Show. "Captain Bones" Bonner commanded a pirate ship at his booth, while "Sauce Boss"
Bill Wharton was living proof that awesome blues could be played and gumbo cooked at the same time. To the best of my
knowledge, "Crazy Jerry" Gualtieri is still the only guy putting pink plastic brains on his sauce bottles ("Crazy Jerry's Brain
Damage"). Renate and I had our picture taken with CJ at the Florida show in '98. Great guy.

St. Petersburg, FL nursery Pursley Gardens provided not only hundreds of chile plants, but also spectacular
displays like this pepper-tailed mermaid. - There was hardly any Fiery Foods Show without Mrs. and Mr. Tahiti
Joe. I took this picture at their 2006 Albuquerque booth, and we enjoyed talking to them at the 2007 show.
Charlotte will always have her place in the hearts of the big fiery-foods family, and she'll surely be missed.
Extreme Pickles call for extreme outfits - that hair color also adds safety while jogging at night.

The most Important People at the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show

While the exhibitors put up the show and provide all those interesting characters and displays, the most important
people at each Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show are of course the visitors. Corporate buyers and and small store
buyers, but first and foremost those who enjoy the show and soak up the heat: Chileheads of all ages!

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