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2011 ZestFest Diary
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I had comfy journey into Dallas-Fort Worth from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, and I was fortunate enough to catch a flight that was abnormally early in its arrival time. Collecting my suitcase (half empty with cardboard boxes and styrofoam peanuts to take sauces on my way back home) and grabbing my rental car, I was psyched about venturing to the new Irving Convention Center at Los Colinas and arriving earlier than anticipated.
Well, thanks in part to both the Google Maps on my iPhone 4 and the lack of ANY freeway exits or signs pointing to the Convention Center, I could not immediately get to the new venue. After bouncing back and forth across the highway, I decided to get off an exit further up ahead and drive around in a few circles. I eventually ran into Los Colinas Blvd and thankfully headed towards ZestFest's new home, but not after having wasted 20-25 minutes...
ZestFest 2011 Fiery Food Challenge Winners List
Courtesy of Pam Betz, here is the revised and final list of ZestFest Fiery Food Challenge Award Winners:
Best New Product Consumer Ready Food
1st Conscious Choice Foods - Harold's Spicy 2X Habanero Dill Pickles
2nd Garden Fresh Salsa - Gourmet: Mango Habanero with Ginger & Honey
3rd Mary of Puddin' Hill - Cinnamon Pecan Crunch
Best New Product Cook-Off Food...
Revisited for 2011: Hot Wings and Buffalo Wings - Here Are 15 Different Recipes You've Gotta Try
Here's a topic I think is worth revisiting annually (I first blogged about this in February 2008) - some great, mouth-watering recipes for chicken wings. Since Super Bowl is just around the corner, AND being inspired to post a wing-related article by HotSauceDaily.com's Brian Meagher (check out his excellent series "Week of Wings"), I've revisted the "15 Wings Recipes You've Gotta Try" post yet again.
No other food (with the possible exception of chili) can claim to be the staple of any American chilehead's diet quite like the spicy chicken wing. Here are 15 different links to sites with recipes for hot wings (breaded) and buffalo wings (unbreaded) that will increase your wing-making skills and expand your tastes...
Danny Cash ZestFest Collectors Bottle Series Now Complete
Let me preface this by saying I'm not a huge hot sauce bottle collector. But this is undoubtedly one of the coolest sets to come along in recent years.
The Danny Cash Krewe has been preparing this 4-bottle grouping since the 2007 ZestFest. Releasing one bottle each show starting then, these feature curvy glass containers all fit together with the outline of the state of Texas and a Danny Cash logo on them.
Now with the 2011 ZestFest show, the series is complete...
ZestFest 2011 Coverage
Don't miss a single second of my ongoing coverage from ZestFest 2011! Below are the highlights:
 Bikini Hot ShotNicole Ramsperger of Heartbreaking Dawns strips down and downs a spoonful of hot sauce on video. |
 ZestFest 2011 Photos Day ThreePics of Day Two |
 Intensity Academy 2011 Lick-A-Thon Lollipop ContestSponsored by both ScottRobertsWeb.com and Midlife Roadtrip TV, Intensity Academy offered the hottest lick on a stick. |
 ZestFest 2011 Photos Day TwoPics of Day Two |
 Hot Sauce Weekly Podcast - Report From ZestFestI report live from ZestFest on the Hot Sauce Weekly Podcast, which is hosted by Brian and Marilyn Meagher. |
 ZestFest 2011 Photos Day OnePics of Day One |
Zest Fest 2011 Photos Day Three
The heat concludes! View the ZestFest 2011 Day Three Photos.
Zest Fest 2011 Photos Day Two
The heat continues! View the ZestFest 2011 Day Two Photos.
Bikini Hot Shot
Here's the back story: as a way to build up their web presence, Nicole Ramsperger of Heartbreaking Dawns promised the world that when they would reach 1,000 fans on Facebook, she would down a spoonful of their 1498 Trinidad Scorpion Hot Sauce (probably the first American sauce to use the super-hot chile) AND wear a bikini while doing it.
True to her word, Nicole held up her end of the deal at this year's ZestFest. Heartbreaking Dawns' Johnny McLaughlin and Nicole's sister Caitlin both shot video of Nicole and I eat a spoonful of 1498 on the 3rd floor balcony of the new Irving Convention Center where this year's ZestFest was being hosted. Please pardon wind noise in the later part of the video.
As an incentive to Nicole to drop trou and wear nothing but a bikini bottom below her waist, I challenged her to do that if HBD would reach 2,000 fans on their Facebook page. So if you're not a fan yet, get on there and do so and Nicole will shoot another video!
Intensity Academy 2011 Lick-A-Thon Lollipop Contest
Intensity Academy presented their third Lick-A-Thon Lollipop Contest at this year's ZestFest. Sponsored by both ScottRobertsWeb.com and Midlife Roadtrip TV, this sucker-dissolving bout featured even hotter candies that contained 1.8 Million Scoville Heat Units of extract, making the contest a bit more difficult for novice contestants.
And speaking of contestants, the group featured not only myself and Midlife Roadtrip's Rick Griffin, but fellow chilehead Vic Clinco, who had won the very first Lick-A-Thon at the Weekend of Fire back in 2009. Will I finally won this lollipop contest? Will Vic reclaim his title as "master sucker"? Watch the video to find out.
Zest Fest 2011 Photos Day One
The party in Texas has started and it's hot! View the ZestFest 2011 Day One Photos.
Weekly Firecast Wins St. Louis Riverfront Times Award
I'm thrilled to announce that the Weekly Firecast has won an RFT Web Award for "Best Use of Video in Food Blogging"!
According to the Riverfront Times website, here's what the judges had to say:
"When it comes to food, some like it hot - and some like it Scott Roberts hot. If you have a thing for spicy chiles and delicious barbecue, the Weekly Firecast is for you. Roberts' spoonful taste-test reviews provide an honest, real-time reaction to some of the world's hottest sauces. We love the passion he brings to his niche corner of the food world."
I would like to thank everyone out their for their viewership and support. This honor belongs to you guys!
ZestFest Judge Carried Out on Stretcher After Sampling Extract Sauce
A medical emergency this morning at a judging session for the Fiery Food Challenge, the spicy food contest held in conjunction with ZestFest 2011, served as a visceral reminder of how much heat capsaicin extract packs -- and raised questions about whether the chemical should be allowed in competition.
The owner of Chili Pepper Magazine left the Irving Convention Center on a stretcher after sampling a product labeled only as #337, a blind entry in the "hot sauce with extract category".
"That's a nightmare in a bottle," said Larry Wampler, a fellow judge and chili cook. "Awful."
Event organizers stressed reactions to hot sauce are highly individual, so eaters with underlying health conditions and macho attitudes are more likely to suffer. But capsaicin extract is so controversial...
ZestFest 2011 Roll Call and Vendor List
Woo-hoo! It's less than one week until the first big show of 2011 begins - ZestFest2011! I will be attending all three days - this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday - so anyone who is coming to the show and happens to spot me milling around the show floor or talking to any of the vendors, don't be afraid to stop and say hi!
If you live in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and love spicy chow of any kind, don't think twice about not coming to ZestFest this year. Hosted in the newly constructed Irving Convention Center, this hints as being an exciting hot sauce show that may raise the bar for all...
Review - ARBY's Spicy Three Pepper Sauce
Spicy Three Pepper Sauce is a condiment at QSR roast beef giant ARBY's that was been in development over 10 years ago and is now in a good number of stores across the U.S.. I rarely go inside ARBY's restaurant themselves, but when I last did I came across the spicy sauce among their other sauces on the condiment bar. Of course, you know ol' Scotty had to try it!
The Spicy 3 Pepper Sauce is a dark, quasi-creamy red liquid with far more density...
Giant Pepper For Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers Bred Specifically For Increased Cheese Payload
Chile Pepper Institute introduces 'NuMex Jalmundo'
New jalapeño pepper perfect for poppers
LAS CRUCES, NM – Jalapeño fans take note—a new, jumbo pepper is now available for your eating and cooking pleasure. The New Mexico State University chile pepper breeding program recently announced the release of a large-size jalapeño pepper dubbed 'NuMex Jalmundo'. According to Paul Bosland, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at NMSU and co-founder of the nonprofit Chile Pepper Institute, "the name Jalmundo is a contraction of jalapeño and the Spanish word for world (mundo), implying that it is as big as the world."
The jalapeño, sold fresh, frozen, canned, and pickled, is one of the most popular and most recognized chile peppers grown and consumed in the United States. Jalapeños were originally named after the city of Xalapa, Mexico, where they are traditionally grown. 'NuMex Jalmundo' originated from a hybridization between a bell pepper, ('Keystone Resistant Giant'), and a jalapeño ('Early Jalapeno').
A new consumer favorite is the category of large jalapeños used for making poppers, breaded and deep-fried jalapeños stuffed with...
