Chilli Britain

Gideon Burrows is probably the last person you’d expect to have a penchant for chillies given that he has a stomach ulcer that can be aggravated by spicy food, but as chilliheads we sometimes just can’t help but satisfy our capsaicin needs.

Although he’d had a penchant for chillies for some time and considered himself a chillihead, it was after a chance visit to a chilli festival several years ago that Gideon had an epiphany moment: there were many more people who like him had a craving for all things chilli. His curiosity to understand why this was the case made him embark on an expedition to find out more about these strange fruits that have become part of people’s lives and write a book about it.

Like a stereotypical Tarantino film the book opens at dramatic moment late in the overall story – at the Hertfordshire chilli festival where Gideon is about to partake in the de rigueur chill eating competition. After this opening sequence subsequent chapters provide the backfill to the story of his exploration of the chilli scene and how he ended up entering the chilli eating competition.Read the full article at Chilli Foundry