Don’t fear the Reaper.
If “the hotter, the better” is your mantra, perhaps this is your moment. Bob for Reaper Peppers or enter the Guinness Book of World Records Reaper Eating Challenge and test your taste buds.
“The current world record is 120 grams of Reaper Peppers eaten in one minute, so we have 10 people that are going to try to break that record,” said Steve Seabury, owner of High River Sauces and founder/part-owner of the Illinois Hot Sauce Expo. “The adjudicator comes and he clocks 60 seconds and they weigh the peppers before and after and hopefully we can break the world record. It’s pretty insane.”
Presented by High River Sauces, the Illinois Hot Sauce Expo returns after a two-year hiatus, moving from Bridgeview to Joliet for two days of fiery food fun July 23-24 at 121 N. Chicago St. Doors open at 11 a.m. both days.
“This is our third year doing it now. It’s just a complete blast,” Seabury said. “People love it and it’s getting bigger and bigger.”
Seabury, who lives in New York, started his hot sauce company about 10 years ago. As the company started growing, he thought why not create a festival similar to those that celebrate craft beer. After launching festivals in New York, California and Oregon, he decided to create one for Chicago.
“We know the Midwest and Chicago love spicy foods,” he said.
“The first year people were like ‘hot sauce festival?'” Seabury said. “And then they came.”
The second year, it doubled in size. This year, about 2,000 people are expected to take part and sample spicy sauces from around the country.
“It’s kind of like the craft beer world where you’ve got all these different microbreweries and whatnot. Same with hot sauce. There’s companies in California and New York that make completely different hot sauce. They’re using ingredients that are Indigenous to their area. They’re making great sauces,” Seabury said.
“What we do is we bring together those artisanal sauce companies and bring them to Illinois and people who love hot sauce and spicy food come and they’re trying stuff they’ve never experienced before. None of these guys are in grocery stores. They’re just really big in their local market and state and we try to get them to different areas to expand their audience and sell more hot sauce and turn people on to what they’re doing.”
About 30 companies will be on hand offering samples of their sauces. Most companies have 10-30 different hot sauces, he said.
“They’ll have so much hot sauce to sample, I don’t even think they’ll be able to do it in one day. It’s going to be awesome,” Seabury said. “There’s going to be hundreds of different hot sauces to sample.”
Unlimited samples are included in the advance purchase $10 general admission ticket, along with entertainment including the Stage of Doom eating contests and a Booze and Infuse bartender competition, live music and wrestling. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
“We want to make it very affordable for the whole family to come down,” Seabury said. “Tickets are $10 and children 10 and under get in for free.”
General admission tickets are available the day of for $15. Packages are also available for those 21 and older and can only be purchased in advance. A craft beer package is $40. The ultimate VIP is $100, which includes an open bar and more. See event website for details.
Hot sauce aficionados can try a variety of products including salsa, barbecue sauce, spicy jerky and spicy chocolate. There’s even something for the beginner.
“Everyone is going to have an entry level hot sauce, like jalapeño and if you don’t want to get crazy and into the ghost peppers and all that, but we’re also going to have that as well,” Seabury said. “We’re going to have every level of heat there. From mild to super hot.”
Attendees can forget about the world and spend the day expecting the unexpected and celebrating the pepper with fans old and new, he said.
“It’s like a clique of people. I always say we were dropped on our heads as babies because not many people say ‘yeah, I’ll eat that ghost pepper, no problem,'” Seabury said. “Most people are ‘No. Red alert! Red alert!’ Everyone there is usually, ‘yeah, give me another one!'”
Illinois Hot Sauce Expo
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When: July 23-24
Where: 121 N. Chicago St., Joliet
Tickets: $10-$15; children age 10 and under free with an adult
Information: ilhotsauceexpo.com
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.