The weather this summer may not have lived up to our expectations, but temperatures are definitely going to soar in September at the annual Birmingham Chilli Festival.
Now in its fifth year, the free festival will take place on Saturday September 19 in Brindleyplace's Central Square and visitors will be treated to live music, street performances and, of course, a selection of chilli influenced street food.
This will be taking place alongside the popular Chilli Produce Market, which arrives September 18, where you can pick up sauces, preserves, curries and snacks that will put your heat tolerance to the test.
The highlight of the festival is the chilli eating competition, which sees 20 brave participants chomp their way through an array of chillies, ranging from the humble bell pepper to the fearsome Carolina Reaper, rated the hottest chilli in the world by the 'Guinness Book of Records' in 2013. This red menace scores at least 1.5 million heat units on the Scoville scale, which makes it around fifteen times hotter than a habanero chilli.
If you want to take the challenge in the hope of being crowned Birmingham's new Chilli King or Queen, email alex-perrins@gva.co.uk before September 6 to secure your place.
The Chilli Festival is also being used as an opportunity for Brindleyplace to celebrate its twentieth anniversary and festival sponsors Dare will be showcasing a trio of modern craft beers to the public for the first time.
For beer buffs, Dare is a resurrection beer brought back to life by Davenports, a brewery most in Birmingham probably thought to be defunct. However, the Dare craft beers mark the start of a resurgence of Davenports across the Midlands, with some very exciting plans in store. We'll bring you more details about that as soon as we can.
The 2014 Chilli Queen, Lou Witterick
Birmingham Chilli Festival and Chilli Produce Market, September 18-19, 11am-7pm. Brindleyplace Central Square, Birmingham, B1 2JF. Entry is free.
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