Hot Sauce Fest a Success
More than 2,000 “fiery folks” attended the first annual New England Hot Sauce Fest at Smuttynose Brewery Co. in Hampton on July 30, which collectively raised nearly $10,000 for its two beneficiary organizations, according to a press release. The event featured more than 25 craft hot sauce companies from across New Hampshire and other New England states, along with several food trucks and craft and specialty vendors. Canadian celebrity competitive eater Mike Jack of Mike Jack Eats Heat even consumed 60 Carolina Reaper peppers (the world’s hottest pepper), beating his own personal record. “Our goals were to raise money for our local ocean-conservation beneficiaries, and to put New England on the map as an up and coming spicy region,” event organizer Gabe DiSaverio of The Spicy Shark said in a statement. “We are so thrilled to raise money for Blue Ocean Society and Seacoast Science Center, each receiving $4,417.” Plans are already underway for the festival to return for a second year, on July 29, 2023. “We plan on keeping the same formula that made Year 1 such a success, and we’ve got a bunch of new spicy surprises in the works as well!” DiSaverio said. Visit newenglandhotsaucefest.com.
— Matt Ingersoll
Featured photo: Thresher Quesadilla. Photo courtesy of the Spicy Shark.
