Curry contest packs heat
How much curry could you eat in a hurry?
What about if that curry was flavoured with three of the spiciest chilli peppers in the world? That’s what competitors braved in pursuit of a year’s free curry at Christchurch restaurant Two Fat Indians’ Hot as Hell Curry National Championship last night.
The event was originally called the Suicide Curry National Championship, but had a last-minute name change after suicide prevention campaigner Waata Keating labelled the restaurant’s use of the word suicide to promote the event ‘‘disgusting’’ in a Facebook video.
‘‘Using suicide as the means to promote it is just disgusting. Too many of us have lost loved ones to suicide.’’
Keating had planned to protest outside the event, but after the event’s name was changed, decided to instead thank the organisers personally for making the change.
A Two Fat Indians Facebook post said the restaurant was ‘‘so sorry for hurting the feelings of people by using an inappropriate name for a fun competition we have run for years’’.
About 60 people signed up for the challenge on social media, leading to the restaurant holding two sittings – but only nine of the expected 30 were brave enough to front for the first round. They glugged soothing yoghurt drinks and wiped sweaty upper lips as they attempted to finish the meal and earn the title and free curry for a year.
The fastest time at the first session belonged to Terran Nowlan, who wolfed his plate down in two minutes and 13 seconds.
A numb-mouthed Nowlan said the dish was tasty, but he was feeling it afterwards. ‘‘It’s more hot temperature-wise when you’re having it, then the chilli kick comes afterwards, so you don’t really notice what you’re eating until a minute or two later.’’
His advice: ‘‘Don’t think about it, just eat it, and worry about it later.’’
Chicken and vegetarian dishes served at the event included seeds from one of the hottest chilli pepper in the world, restaurant manager Peachie Kumar said.
‘‘Since I’m the manager it’s my job to taste the dishes and so far I haven’t been defeated by its spiciness yet. Last time I tried it I told the chef to make it hotter.’’
The ghost chilli, or bhut jolokia – one of the three chillis used in the recipe – is 400 times hotter than tabasco sauce and is rated at more than 1 million Scoville heat units, whereas a jalapeno is about 5000. It was considered the world’s hottest chilli until 2013 when it was surpassed by the Carolina Reaper pepper.
Kumar said the event was resurrected after running in Christchurch for many years at Two Fat Indians’ former location on Manchester St. For the first time since the earthquakes, foodies were able to partake in the challenge synonymous with the restaurant, he said.
Chilli-eating competitions worldwide have left entrants writhing on the floor in agony, vomiting and fainting. In 2017, some of China’s most daring eaters jumped into chilli-filled vats of water and consumed as many chillis as they could in a minute.
An American man who devoured a hamburger laced with ghost pepper puree in an eating competition began vomiting and suffering from such severe abdominal pain he was admitted to A&E where doctors discovered a 2.5-centimetre hole in his oesophagus. He underwent emergency surgery and spent 23 days in hospital.