Houston Hot Sauce Show
Last year, I promised show promoter Carol Borge that I would be there this year. So, I scrapped up the pennies, melted them down, molded it into some artsy bird sculpture sold it on Ebay to some stupid Baltimore Ravens fan and bought me my plane ticket. Back to back weekends at two of the biggest outdoor fiery food festivals in the country. I feel lucky to be able to do it. I will be at Indy next weekend at Open Fields, so I all ready have pepper lag.
I look forward to seeing all the familiar faces, and of course trying out some new products. Pictured above is the new t-shirt design for the show, which is celebrating it’s 10th year. Hopefully it will be the best showing of them all. I will report back when I have a chance, and hope to share with you like I do with all the shows I attend. I will be partnered with fellow reviewer Steve Smith from www.2hot2eat.com and ILIS of course. It is our first meeting, and I really look forward to meeting him.
So let the show begin…
Well folks, the first day is winding down to a screeching halt. Throughout the day I got a lot of laughs as one by one people fell to the Trinidad Scorpion that I gave away. We had a bunch of people step up to the challenge. As for hot sauce there was plenty tasting going on with Steve Smith and me. There was a lot of familiar vendors, but only a few new ones that caught my attention. I will get back to you on those products later.
Despite a small bout with a rainshower the crowd was steady, but not overwhelming. Tom Was of Intensity Academy said he did much better than last year by midday. I helped out Sam and Tina at the Zane & Zack Famous Honey Pepper Company booth, and I got firsthand knowledge that the crowds were steady and willing to buy if you excited their tastebuds. I think for the most part the pepper festival at Bowers was much busier than Houston, but this show seems more laid out. They both had live music and food to purchase. I think fried things on a stick is what is happening these days. Houston has a hospitality area for free drinks, including beer that Steve and I were allowed to partake in. Thank you to Carol Borge, the show organizer to letting us in.
Inttensity Academy had another Lick-a-Thon, and I am happy to say that Steve kept it in the ILIS family with a record licking performance. Well done Steve. Of course, I did not participate or it might be a different story. See how easy it is to smacktalk and not even take part in it. Anyway, I will have footage of that during the week after I get home.
The show starts today at noon then we have to leave at 2pm. This was fun while it lasted. Hanging with good people as always fun.
I will have more later folks and eventually the videos to follow.
Sounds like fun! I can picture you walking around with your camera in one hand and a bag of scorpions in the other….lol :photographer:
I wonder how many people are trying to avoid you? :_ride:
Hey, good news…The Vikings lost again today!
Pretty much. There is a lot of footage and some people got sick from it. I only got one person tossing their cookies though. You can see despair hit their faces after about the 2 minute mark. Only one person seemed to shrug it off, and he should get an award for that. Although, who knows what after effects he might have endured later on.
As you know from doing the Black Mamba offerings at the FFS, guys have big egos and want to say they did the next big thing. 😈
and so did your Fluncco led Ravens.
Sunday at the show became a windy rain shower which evacuated many from the show. There was a plenty of people willing to hold out inside the event center, but many seemed it was just too much. The weather for both days was supposed to be overcast, but the rain spoiled the event for many people, and some vendors struggled to keep their tents upright. Steve and I had to head to the airport at 2pm, and there didn’t seem any clear skies in sight, so I am not sure it got any better. Hopefully they were still able to make some money.
Bowers had the same issue the previous two years with the rain. It shows how vulnerable these outdoor shows can be. If the weather is great, then it is the place to be. Bowers had nearly perfect weather on Saturday, and Houston never got much sun the whole weekend. There was plenty of time on Saturday that was pleasant enough, and I think most of the vendors made their dollars.
As for some of the new finds, I will start with a company that I all ready know and like, but did not try their tropical “Island Fire” marmalade until this weekend, and that is Flaming Joe’s. It has a great preserve like quality, but with tropical fruit in it. I had a great pineapple taste with one bite, and the second bite it was some other fruit. Good stuff.
New companies that I liked I will start off with Kala’s Kuisine. They have an Indian influence with traditional salsa, and what they call chutney is unlike anything that I would consider traditional chutney. I so much enjoyed their cilantro chutney, that I would have bought it if it didn’t have to be refrigerated. They also had other great tasting products in their line- hotvocado, gingery habanero hot sauce, and curry-chipotle salsa in different heat levels.
Next we have Austin Slow Burn with 2 more products that have to be refrigerated. First a dip called Creamy Jalapeno and a queso called Green Chile Con Queso. Yum yum for sure. Finally, there was a garlic driven company with their garlic salsa line in different heat levels. They actually had a Ghost Pepper Garlic Salsa drinking contest. I am sorry I missed that, but I heard it was over in like 10 seconds. I had the ghost salsa of theirs and it really wasn’t too hot, but the garlic presence was there, but not in an overwhelming way. It gave the salsas an Italian twist that I really enjoyed.
I salute these awesome new companies or at least new to me. One of the best ways to leave a show is to eat a frozen deep fried chocolate sprinkle and nut covered cheesecake on a stick. It is a mouthful, and I am not talking the words to describe it. It was really good. So to wrap up the Houston Hot Sauce Show, I had a good time, I think it is well run, but the weather might have ruined it for some folk. There are so many nice people in this industry, when you hang out with them, you just enjoy your time away from home and work even more. Steve was great company, and I think he is a welcome addition to the chilehead ranks. Thanks Steve for joining me, and I hope your ears stop bleeding soon. Congrats on the record breaking Lick-a-Thon and for doing the execution station not just once, but twice back to back. I hope you didn’t suffer later for taking that on.
Look for the videos during the week.
:winner: Saints :winner:
I have to admit, I am suffering a little at work this morning. Thanks to all for reminding me again that I am human.
I had a blast in Houston. It was great to finally be able to meet everyone in person. I am looking forward to the next one.