THE latest in a series of fundraisers for next year's Cotswold Olimpicks was hot stuff in the form of the second Chipping Campden Chilli Eating Competition.
The event was started off in traditional style by newly appointed town crier Chris “Rooster” Rouse and the competition was to find the winner to challenge the inaugural winner in 2017 Danny Walker.
The range of chillis available for the competition included Jalapeno,Yatsafusa (Birds Eye), Spaghetti, Aji Crystal, Filius Blue, Scotch Bonnet, Trinidad Scorpion Cardi, 7-Pot Yellow, Devil’s Rib, Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Pepper), Dorset Naga, 7-Pot Brain Strain and Carolina Reaper.
Cotswold Olimpicks chairman Tom Threadgill said: “I didn’t used to eat chillis until I started growing them. Your tolerance increases massively once you start eating them and the health benefits are immense.
"There’s some interesting information about Ed Currie (the guy who bred the Carolina Reaper chilli) and his motives. He came from a genetic line predisposed to cancer and heart problems, so he set about growing chillies after observing that societies which consume a lot of hot chilli have low instances of both diseases!”
The competition took the 14 contestants through a range of chillis starting with the mildest and going through to the hottest. The contestants ranged from schoolboys through to adult men and women.
The winner after 10 rounds was the UK “chilli Queen” Shahina Wassem, who was going for her 47th competition win, with last year’s winner Danny Walker the runner-up.
Also raising money for next year's Olimpicks was the Noel Beer Fest, which took place in the Dover’s bar at the Noel Arms Hotel in Chipping Campden.
Clavell & Hin's beers went down a treat with the supporters of the games with lots of money raised. The hotel was holding a curry evening at the same time and had over 100 diners.
The Robert Dover’s Cotswold Olimpicks committee will be manning a stall at the Christmas market in Chipping Campden on December 1 and will be happy to talk to potential volunteers.
CHRIS ROBERTS
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