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When the Chilli Bite delicatessen in Ashford hosted its
inaugural Chilli Challenge, hot-headed Kentish Express reporter Tim
Collins decided to give it a try – sampling some of the hottest
sauces known to man.

When I first heard about the Chilli Bite’s hot sauce contest, I
thought I was in for a sure-fire win.

I’m known to my friends as a fan of all things spicy – not for
reasons of bravado, but for a genuine love of all things that warm
the belly and put a kick in your step.

I was joined by three other competitors, Stephen Head, from
South Ashford, who turned 19 that day. His first words to me were
“I’ve never eaten a chilli in my life”, so it was not surprising he
dropped out after the first round.

My two other rivals, Graham Fillery, of Godfrey Walk, and Ian
Mitchell, born in Zimbabwe but now living in Kingsnorth, looked to
be made of tougher stuff.

All three of us made it through the first three rounds with ease,
and I was feeling confident about my chances of winning.

Had I known the jump in heat level that was about to occur –
almost 100,000 Scoville heat units, about 10 times hotter than the
hottest jalapeno – I might not have been so cocksure. Upon eating
Da’Bomb in the fourth round, my eyes began to stream
uncontrollably, and it felt as if Mount Vesuvius itself had erupted
in my mouth.

And when offered Satan’s Nuts – peanuts covered in Satan’s Blood
hot sauce – as a snack between rounds, this pushed me over the
edge.

Ego crushed, I threw in the towel, feeling I had let down my
friends and Kentish Express colleagues, who I knew were rooting for
me.

In the minutes after the heat had subsided and my bruised pride
had recovered, a strange intoxicated feeling came over me, which my
fellow contestants seemed to share.

I left with mixed emotions and, suffice to say, for the
following 24 hours, the words of a well known Johnny Cash track
took on a special significance for me.

Nevertheless, I’m now in training for my appearance at the next
challenge, which is likely to take place in August.

Mr Fillery dropped out at the end of round five, making Mr
Mitchell the competition’s winner. He described the experience
after winning as “like heartburn on steroids” and was clearly
suffering in the post-competition come-down shared by the other
contestants.