Beijingkids has been an essential family resource for Beijing international families since 2006. And just as kids grow up in the blink of an eye, Beijing has grown and changed almost beyond recognition in that time. In Throwback Thursday we jump in the time machine, traveling through our 14 year-strong blog archives to dig out the most entertaining, fascinating, and thought-provoking stories for your reading pleasure. Ready? Let’s go…
We are beyond excited that the 2020 Hot & Spicy Festival is coming back to Galaxy Soho Aug 7-9. It’s hard to believe that this will be only the 3rd year the festival has been held because it’s already become such a keystone of our social calendar. Combining delicious and spicy food from all over the globe, loads of live entertainment, and a great festive atmosphere for all ages, it is an event not to be missed.
Yet while the festival itself is relatively new, the highlight event, the Hot Chili Eating Competition actually dates back much further, into the mists of time, a forgotten era known as the mid 2000’s.
Contestants scoff as many spicy peppers as they can during Canada Day celebrations
2006 to be exact, the year in which the first-ever Beijinger Hot Chili Pepper Eating Competition was held as a side attraction to the Canada Day celebrations at the Canadian International School of Beijing. The link between the land of moose and poutine and hot chili may be unclear, but our sister magazine the Beijinger embraced it anyway, and the competition was held at the embassy for a total of seven times over the following decade.
Back in those early days, competitors simply had to eat as many of one kind of chili as possible and the competition was won a whopping five consecutive times by Gabriel Monroe, who was downing anywhere between 60 to 85 chilies in a sitting.
Five-time winner Gabriel Monro stays calm at the 2010 competition, while long-time Beijinger employee Han Shifu (top right) looks on
In 2017, the Beijinger modified the format a bit, teaming up with Maovember and Punjabi to host the event in the name of charity. It was also when they adopted the current format of having to eat a range of different chilis, rather than just a huge number. That year, it was Ankit Nayal – who you may recognize as the director of B-Active Sanlitun – who took the crown, admittedly looking a little worse for wear after eating not one, but four, Yunnan Shabu Shabu chilies, each scoring over 1,000,000 Scoville heat units.
2017 competition winner Ankit Nayal (right) grapples with the dreaded Hainan Yellow Lantern Chili
In 2018 and 2019, the competition took it’s rightful position as centerpieces of the massive 2-day Hot & Spicy festivals, with dozens of competitors battling it out on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, it was Patrick McCarthy who weathered the pain and came out on top, followed by Bill Weydig on Sunday. Speaking about the competition, Weydig described the moment the Hainan lantern peppers kicked in as “the closest I’ve ever come to an out-of-body experience. That was also when I found myself questioning my sanity.”
The 2019 competition drew a massive crowd at Galaxy Soho
If you think you have what it takes to eat some of the world’s hottest chilies and would like to take part in this year’s pain-tinged showdown, simply send an email expressing your interest to marketingteam@truerun.com.
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Images courtesy of the Beijinger, Uni You
