Chilling out in chilli lovers paradise

I don't know the official data, but I suspect the British Isles are home to the highest number of festivals in the world. For one, we are likely to be world leaders in literary festivals - this useful source lists more than 350 such festivals per year, taking place in both big cities and small towns, the length and breadth of Britain. I have had the good fortune to visit the most famous of them all, the Hay Festival, and I am also very lucky to know the lovely people behind one of the newest, yet already very popular, our own Salisbury Literary Festival, but I shall write about it in due course, because it deserves a separate post.

There are also many music festivals, some huge and well-established, such as Glastonbury, and some small, catering to very specific audiences - each genre seems to have a dedicated festival. Some combine music with other arts, or crafts, or food. Then there are food festivals - and we went to one last Saturday.

The Great Dorset Chilli Festival is a chilli lover's dream. As my husband happens to be one, and I also enjoy the flavoursome (though not too hot) dishes he cooks using various types of chilli, we headed to St Giles Park in Dorset with eager anticipation. It is a beautiful location - Grade II-listed St Giles House and the surrounding park belong to the Earl of Shaftesbury. Festivals often take place in stately homes' grounds - they must be a useful source of revenue.

The main star of the show was, of course, chilli, all the different types, from the mildest to the hottest on the Scoville scale. There were many stalls selling all things chilli, from plants to a huge variety of chilli condiments. There was even one with chilli - themed pottery. 

It is remarkable that one ingredient can spawn so many small businesses, and yet most of them were local, based in Dorset, Wiltshire or Hampshire. We chatted to the people running the stalls, and they were all passionate about their products, quite a few proudly displaying their Great Taste awards. The biggest draw and pleasure of a food festival is that you can taste almost everything before you buy it (or not - there was no pressure) - that is, after all, the point. Many stall holders were daring us to try their products made with the hottest chillies, and some stands and products used the internationally recognised image of skull and bones. This was not a place for those timid of palate, who prefer their food bland.

There were stalls which sold other products, such as gin (one of my favourites), meat, spices, smoked garlic, pottery, olive oil, sombreros and other Mexican paraphernalia, as well as food, coffee and ice-cream trucks. We rounded our visit off with delicious burritos, coffee and Dorset ice-cream. 

We came home with a beautiful chilli plant to add to our collection, Greek olive oil and some chilli jam.

Have you ever been to a food festival?