North Market Fiery Food Festival Sneak Peek

Spicy Asian cuisine, spicy beer, spicy corn bread are just a few things you might encounter if you head to the North Market Show in Columbus, Ohio this weekend. This has become one of my favorite chilehead gatherings for the year. If it wasn’t the fact that it isn’t New Orleans, it would be my favorite for sure. Columbus, Ohio does have some great food though, plenty of micro-brews if you like that type of thing, and it is of course the home of the most decorated award winning spicy product maker in the industry, CaJohn’s Fiery Foods. If you have not made the journey to this show, then you truly have not experienced such a special chilehead experience such as this one. Let me break down the weekend for you…

Friday, February 17th: CaJohn’s Open House
12:00pm until 9:00pm
CaJohn’s Fiery Foods Co.
816 Green Crest Dr
Westerville, OH 43081
Facebook Page: CLICK ME

Some food, chilehead gathering, and a tour of the facility. You can sample some of CaJohn’s sauces, salsas and other spicy treats. Check out the award display, and not to mention the Buddah room! Yes, I was honored with a room named after me, and no it isn’t the bathroom. Steve the official chef of CaJohn’s Fiery Foods will surely serve up some tasty treats so come hungry. The more the merrier.

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Saturday 18th: Day One of the North Market Fiery Food Festival
8am until 5pm
North Market
59 Spruce St.
Columbus, OH 43215
Facebook Page: CLICK ME

Activities for Saturday:

•9-11 a.m., music by Ira Chaiffetz (banjo)
•10 a.m., Guacamole contest in Dispatch Kitchen
•10 a.m. – 3 p.m., face painting
•10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Mark Wood Cowboy Fun Show
•11 a.m., Chef Chili Challenge in northwest corner of mezzanine ($5 sample fee includes chef chili sampling AFTER judging)
•11 a.m. – 1 p.m., music by Gipson & Fitz Trio
•12:30 p.m., ILoveItSpicy Hot Sauce Contest in the Dispatch Kitchen
•1-3 p.m., music by Island Breeze
•2 p.m., Heartbreaking Dawns & ILoveItSpicy Fiery Scornbread eating contest in Dispatch Kitchen
•3-5 p.m., music by the Piano Pedaler
•3:30 p.m., Jalapeno eating contest in Dispatch Kitchen

20 vendors lined up! Special fiery foods vendors for the weekend so far include: A Bit of A Bite, Salsa, Aimee’s Blue Ribbon Spices, Bigfat’s Hot Sauce, Black Swamp Gourmet, Blaze Gourmet, CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire, Chuck Evans’ Montezuma Brand, Dragonfire Foods, El Gringo Loco, Heartbreaking Dawns, Mild to Wild Herb and Pepper Co., Mudflats Chef Inspired Sauces, Patter Fam Sauces, Race City Sauce Works, Red Lion Spicy Foods Company, Surface of the Sun, Sweet Thing Gourmet, Uncle Jester’s Fine Foods, Urban Chefs and Volcanic Peppers.

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Look what Elevator Brewing Company is cooking up for the Fiery Foods Festival: Ghost Scorpion Lager! Which will be available at Fiery Foods Weekend in February. It may be ‘The worlds HOTTEST beer!’

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Fiery Asian Dinner: Saturday Night after the show, we go off to China Dynasty for the spiciest and tastiest Asian cuisine you will ever have in your life.
Located at:
1930 E Dublin Granville Rd
Columbus, OH 43229

This is maxed out at 60 people, so to reserve a spot please contact Doc Cordray at do*@ca*****.com or call 614-418-0808. $25/person which includes Tax, Tip, Beverage included.
Alcoholic beverages available for individual purchase.

Menu:
Appetizer Plate:
BBQ Rib, Crab Rangoon, Spring Roll

Soup:
Hot & Sour Soup

Entrees (served Family Style unlimited portion-some very hot**, hot* and mild):
Sesame Chicken
Szechuan Green Beans*
Hunan Triple Delight (scallops, shrimp, beef, chicken mix)**
Hot Pepper Chicken**
Shrimp in Garlic Sauce
Home Style Beef**
Chicken Phad Thai*
Dynasty Fried Rice (shrimp, chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, mixed)

Dessert:
Cake

(Leftovers can be taken home)

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Sunday, February 19: Day Two of the North Market Fiery Food Festival
12pm until 5pm

Activities for Sunday:
•12-2 p.m., music by Canned Goods
•12 – 5 p.m., face painting
•12:30 p.m., Amateur Chili Cook-off Contest in northwest corner of mezzanine ($5 sample fee includes amateur chili sampling AFTER judging completed)
•2 p.m., Amateur Salsa Contest in Dispatch Kitchen
•2-4 p.m., music by Andrew Hartman
•2:45 p.m., Crazy Uncle Jester’s Hot Ice Cream Sundae eating Contest in Dispatch Kitchen
•2-5 p.m., music by Willie Phoenix
•3:30 p.m., Hot Wing eating contest in Dispatch Kitchen

As you can see by the two day festival schedule there is so much going on. Two types of chili cook-offs- Professional(Saturday) & Amateur(Sunday), and for $5 you can sample the fine professional or amateur chili concoctions as soon as they are judged. Other Amateur events that are open to the public are the homemade Guacamole, Salsa, and Hot Sauce(ILIS Sponsored) contests. The gorging portion of the competitions- Jalapeno Eating, Heartbreaking Dawns’ Scorn Bread Challenge, Crazy Uncle Jester’s Hot Ice Cream Sundae Eating Challenge, and Hot Wing Eating Contest.

All contest winners will be rewarded with gift certificates or fiery foods prize packages.

In its seventh year the Chef Chili Challenge pits local professionals against one another as contenders for the title “North Market Chili Champ 2012,” a special trophy and $200 in North Market gift certificates. Participating in the battle are market merchants, fiery foods vendors and chefs from local restaurants.

Lastly, ILIS is also having a Vendor’s Only Challenge again. The vendors attending the show have been given the option to create a low carb, no sugar spicy condiment specially for the event. The best of the show will be given a very special trophy as prize. Judging will be done by select chileheads attending the event. If you wish to be one of the judges please see me for details.

It will be a very special weekend for everyone that attends, and I hope to see many of you there. Safe travels everyone!