Yogurt, Sweat, and Sore Butts: Surveying the Aftermath of 2019 Hot & Spicy Festival

Tom Arnstein | Apr 23, 2019 3:20 pm | Add a comment | 654 reads

As the fire gradually cools in our bellies after a two-day blitz of all things spice, it's time to take a look at some of the highlights of this year's Hot & Spicy Festival.

Despite a somewhat cold and dreary start on Saturday, it was soon apparent that Beijing's spice fans were unperturbed by a little rain, turning up in force to warm up on the chili-laden goods from the get-go. By that point, the 50-plus vendors were cooking up a storm, serving everything from chili tacos, chili ice cream, chili margaritas, and chili baijiu. Needless to say, the sweating commenced early and would not stop until late on Sunday.

As with last year's event, the scintillating climax came with the Spicy Chili Pepper Eating Contest, this year sponsored by long-time Mexican chili producer La Costeña. Held in the afternoon on both days, the crowd was in full swing to show their support for their respective countrymen, who were either brave or stupid enough to put their guts through the wringer in search of chili-doused glory. All the while they needed to fend off the temptation to swig on the strategically placed yogurt – the white flag of surrender – in front of them.

Both contests came to an explosive finish, with China's entrant and reigning champion Liu Gang from Hebei deciding to put himself through the pain twice but finding himself shut out on both Saturday and Sunday by his American competitors. On Saturday, it was Patrick McCarthy who weathered the pain and came out on top.

On day two, it was McCarthy's fellow compatriot and New Yorker Bill Weydig who took home the big prize. Speaking about the hardest part of the competition, Weydig said that when the Hainan lantern peppers kicked in it was "the closest I’ve ever come to an out-of-body experience. That was also when I found myself questioning my sanity."

"It’s always fun to win something like this, but I was surprised how seriously a lot of people were taking it. The crowd was really into it and I definitely found myself feeding off their energy. The upside? The free drinks. The downside? The free drinks," Weydig added.

By the evening, the entertainment had kicked into full force with back-to-back bands, dancers, and our Hottest Song Karaoke Competition. For some, the spice (or was it the alcohol?) had taken over and when the audience wasn't screaming for their favorite to win the karaoke contest, they were dancing up a storm in the impromptu dancefloor in the middle of the event.

Finally, the music died down and the crowd started to weave their way back home, some still salivating, others fearful of the pain that would face them the following day. We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who made it to this year's celebration of spice – it wouldn't be a Hot & Spicy Festival without you – and we hope that you're all healed and ready to hit up our next big event.

We'd also like to thank our sponsors La Costeña and Didi, all of this year's vendors and performers, as well as Instaphoto for their documentation of fans in chili garb (see all of those here) as well as our media sponsors CGTN, Huanqiu, and China Daily, who helped stream the second day's Spicy Chili Pepper Eating Competition, which can be watched back here.

Keep scrolling to check out more pictures of the celebration, and try and spot yourself getting up to no good: