Chile Pepper Festival 2017
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Sunday, October 1, 2017
This year, the 25th Annual Chile Pepper Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was on a day with perfect outdoor event weather. It was nice and sunny with mostly clear skies. This is one of our favorite annual events and always a fun one to cover, and our fourth time doing so. We always find great products, meet new people and have good times at the Chile Pepper Festival.
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| Crowd of people at the Chile Pepper Festival |
We made the trek out to Brooklyn for the festival. The event was as always a wonderful one set amongst the beautiful Brooklyn Botanic
Garden. The music featured a great mix of World Music including Mariachi, Indian Bhangra, Brazilian, Cajun, and Afro-Cuban. The bands performed throughout the day on the big stage.
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| Stage for band performances |
The festival layout was well done in the Cherry Blossom Esplanade in a kind of rectangular shape and did not curve around the fountain end of the esplanade like last year. This worked out real well with the Sahadi's Souk tent at the end of the booths. The booths
were all busy with many visitors doing tastings and buying products from the vendors. There was a balanced mix of vendors in several Chile related categories such as Hot Sauce, Chile-Chocolates, Condiments, Pickles & Such, and Hi-Scoville Spicy Sweets.
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| Allen |
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| Sophia |
We
missed seeing some vendors not there this year, and hope they return in future festivals. We made new connections and tried some wonderful "new to us" products. We purchased some items for our pantry for future cooking and reviewing on the blog,
and came home with a few bags of goodies. Things we purchased were hot sauces, BBQ sauce, spicy chocolates, cookies, and a baseball cap from Kitchen Garden Farm Sriracha.
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| Cool selection of books at the Community Bookstore |
Vendors had an impressive amount of locally made products. Many of the vendors this year are local to the NYC area, NJ, Pennsylvania, and a few other east coast areas. Allen enjoyed seeing and tasting products from several of the newer local companies. Allen
sampled hot sauces, salsas, spreads, and various spicy condiments. Sophia bought spicy chocolates, and enjoyed a decadent brownie from The Chocolate Room. By mid-day, the booths were very busy and a few had long lines but they went fast.
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| Allen |
This is
a really great place to have an event and there is seating via benches in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden grounds when you need to take a rest and then continue on tasting and shopping. Several of the vendors were also selling fresh picked Chile Peppers. We saw
a lot of people purchasing fresh peppers from mild to super hot like Ghost and Scorpion Peppers to make sauces perhaps or to spice up their homemade dishes. All the vendors (as always) were very friendly and had a good time explaining their product profiles
and heat level to the patrons. It was great to see about 6 or 7 hot sauce companies that were new to the festival vending. Here are the vendors we visited and photographed.
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| Stuff Sophia bought |
Hot Sauce Sorcery
The Bronx Hot Sauce from our home borough had a great booth set up and were sampling and selling their signature The Bronx Greenmarket Hot Sauce - Green (and also in Red) and the newer, Queens 7 Greenmarket Hot Sauce. The peppers used in the sauces are grown
in several Bronx Community gardens.
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| The Bronx Hot Sauce Queens version |
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| The Bronx Hot Sauce |
Hell's Kitchen Hot Sauce
Hell's Kitchen had a huge lineup this year. We purchased a bottle of the Cinnamon Ghost Punch, and BBQ Sauce, and got a bottle of their Pepper Pastry Sauce made with fresh blueberries, maple syrup and fiery super hot chile peppers. Hell's Kitchen is based in
NYC in the West Side of Manhattan and run by Chef Ron Menin. Ron's 6 hot sauces are recommended, versatile, unique and tasty.
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| Hell's Kitchen Hot Sauce |
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| Hell's Kitchen Hot Sauce |
Karma Sauce
I had read about Queens, NY based Pepplish Provisions on Facebook. I was then pleased to read they were a vendor at the Chile Pepper Festival. We went to their booth and were approached by the proprietor Tim Fraczak. Tim was conversing with the hot sauce tasters
at his booth. He explained to Allen the flavor profiles of the 3 available sauces. Pepplish Provisions trio of hot sauces will be reviewed in the near future. The sauces sampled had a very good combination of both flavor and heat. The sauces are Blueberry
Basil Shallot, Peach Agave Garlic, and Apple Cilantro Lime.
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| Pepplish Provisions |
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| Pepplish Provisions |
Queen Majesty Hot Sauce
Queen Majesty's booth was setup with their impressive sauces: Queen Majesty Jalapeño Tequila & Lime Hot Sauce, Queen Majesty Scotch Bonnet & Ginger Hot Sauce, and Queen Majesty Red Habanero & Black Coffee Hot Sauce. They were busy doing tastings and selling
their sauces all of which we have purchased and cooked with. We are fans of the quality products they make. Erica AKA Queen Majesty handcrafts her sauces, and they are all natural, 100% vegan, gluten free, do not have sugar or unnatural preservatives.
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| Queen Majesty Hot Sauce |
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| Queen Majesty Hot Sauce |
Shaquandas's Hot Pepper Sauce
Shaquanda's had a well decorated booth showcasing the Hot Pepper Sauce they make. Allen did a tasting and found the sauce very flavorful with just the right amount of heat. The sauce uses fresh Scotch Bonnet Peppers, horseradish, ginger, and onions. Shaquanda's
is based in Brooklyn, NY and offer a great tasting local sauce to use both in your cooking and a dipping/condiment sauce.
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| Shaquanda's Hot Pepper Sauce |
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| Shaquanda's Hot Pepper Sauce |
Silly Chilly Hot Sauce
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| Combustible Condiments |
Brooklyn Delhi
Brooklyn Delhi offer Indian condiments and are best known for Achaar (pronounced ah-char; 'pickled' in Hindi) in a variety of flavors. Achaar is made from vegetables & fruits, aromatic spices and chili peppers and is diverse to compliment many of your favorite
dishes.
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| Brooklyn Delhi |
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| Brooklyn Delhi |
City Saucery
Brooklyn based City Saucery offer products that are handcrafted in small batches. Their All-Purpose Tomato Sauce comes in three flavors: Spicy Nonna's Calabrian, Vegan Nonna's Amatriciana, and Nonnna's Leafy Greens. City Saucery have a nice selection of Preserved
Tomatoes and offer a Meatless Salami Spread Tomato 'nduja made with Habanero peppers.
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| City Saucery |
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| City Saucery |
Jacky's Jams & Jellies
Based in New Jersey, Jacky's Jams & Jellies offer a large variety of pepper jams and jellies that are available in all heat levels from mild to spicy.
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| Jacky's Jams & Jellies |
Mama Margarita's Salsa
NYC based Mama Margarita's was sharing plates of chips with the 3 different salsas they make. They are some of the best salsas I have had at the festival both this year and last. They made a good impression on me. The salsas are authentic Mexican, taste very
fresh, and are packed with flavor. They are great for topping foods as well as dipping into tortilla chips and are highly recommended.
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| Mama Margarita's Salsa |
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| Mama Margarita's Salsa |
NY Chup
Pierre's make different flavors of spicy peanut butter that are palate pleasers. Pierre's also offer almond butter and the peanut butters feature a great blend of flavor and heat. Their products are recommended and it was great meeting Pierre himself and do
a tasting.
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| Pierre's Spicy Peanut Butter |
Vital Eats
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| Chocolate Debauchery |
The Chocolate Room
Based in Brookyln, The Chocolate Room were selling their Dark Hot Chocolate, The Classic Hot Cocoa and Spiced Hot Chocolate. They were selling brownies and other fine products. I loved the brownie I bought from them. It was so rich, and decadent.
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| The Chocolate Room |
Hernan Mexican Mole
Hernan were offering samples and selling their Hernan Mole Pipian: A Mexican Classic and Hernan Mole Poblano. Their booth was very busy when I stopped by.
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| Hernan Mexican Mole |
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| Hernan Mexican Mole |
JoMart Chocolates
JoMart Chocolates are always a favorite of mine. This year, I bought their Dark Chocolate Bar. JoMart had many chocolate delights for sale: various chocolate bars, Allstars - pure chocolate stars in different flavors. Many other chocolate themed desserts were
available.
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| JoMart Chocolates |
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| JoMart Chocolates |
Laurie & Sons
Long Island confectioner Little Bird Chocolates offer some really great products. They have Fire Bites Candied Jalapenos covered in Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate, Hot & Sweet Nuts, and Fire Powder - finely ground candied Jalapenos.
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| Little Bird Chocolates |
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| Little Bird Chocolates |
Raaka Chocolate
Raaka make their chocolate in Red Hook, Brooklyn and offer a diverse line of chocolate products. I bought 3 Raaka Chocolate Bars: Coconut Milk from the Dominican Republic, Hibiscus Cinnamon, and Green Tea Crunch and I loved them all!
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| Raaka Chocolate |
Whimsy & Spice
Brooklyn's own Mike's Hot Honey is a Chile pepper based infused honey which is versatile for savory and sweet food and desserts. Mike's Hot Honey is available in 3 sizes: a mini jar, 12 oz. bottle and 24 oz. chef's bottle.
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| Mike's Hot Honey |
There were several ice cream companies to satisfy ice cream aficionados:
Culture: An American Yogurt Company,
La Newyorkina who also had Mexican brownies and ice cream toppings for sale, and
Oddfellow's Ice Cream Co.
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| Culture: An American Yogurt Company |
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| La Newyorkina Mexican Brownies |
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| Oddfellow's Ice Cream Co. |
Piquant Pickles & Such
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| Piquant Pickles & Such |
Rick's Picks
Rick's Picks offer a great selection of pickles and other goodies. Rick's pickle line is offered in tangy, sour, spicy and smoky: The People's Pickle, Classic Sours, Hotties, Smokra. Rick's Mean Beans (Green Beans), Rick's Pha Beets, Rick's Handy Corn, and
Rick's With Relish.
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| Rick's Picks |
Zia Green Chile Company
Zia Green Chile Company did a demo on roasting chiles and it was fun to watch. Zia's Hatch Chiles are manufactured in New Mexico. The product line offered is Hatch Red Chile Sweet & Mild, Hatch Green Chile Medium and Hot, and Hatch Chile Pasta with Sfoglini.
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| Zia Green Chile Company |
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| Zia Green Chile Company, doing a demonstration |
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| Zia Green Chile Company |
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| Zia Green Chile Company |
For Horseradish lovers, there were a number of selections by
Holy Schmitt's Homemade Horseradish.
Kimchi fans got their fix with
Mama O's Premium Kimchi and
Mother In Law's Kimchi.
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| North Brooklyn Farms |
Brooklyn based
Sahadi's Souk had the same large tent area as last year offering a fine selection of spices, spicy candy, nuts, spreads, granola, and other snacks.
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| Calcutta Kitchens |
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| Calcutta Kitchens |
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| Nafi's Sauce |
-Allen and Sophia/Two Frys
