I hate peppers. But, I love spicy foods. So when asked (desperately implored by The Lafayette management) to participate in the 15th Annual Hot Pepper Eating Competition, I rose to the spicy summons.
I knew things would not turn out well the moment they gave us gloves to handle the peppers. But, I live to tell you my scorching story and I hope to either convince you to sign up next year or make it down the stairs to view the tangy tournament.
The contest was hosted by the Easton Farmer’s Market, situated on the picturesque intersecting riverfronts of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers. The weather may have been chili – sorry, chilly – but the competition brought the heat.
“Are you ready to see these people go crazy eating peppers?” the host, Steve Schmid, asked the crowd, donning a chili pepper hat.
200 attendees, mostly Easton natives, cheered. The 12 participants looked more anxious than enthusiastic. The competition commenced.
The rules:
- You must eat the whole pepper, except the stem – “We’re not animals here.”
- New this year, it’s timed: one minute per pepper
- If you’re tapping out, hold up the milk sign – “You will get milk! And you will be eliminated from the contest!”
The atmosphere:
Classic tracks like “Burnin’ for You” by Blue Öyster Cult and “Fireball” by Pitbull blasted from speakers flanking the stage to spice things up.
The “pepper-ologist”:
Mark Reid is the manager of Easton Garden Works, a local collection of community gardens under the Greater Easton Development Project, the same organization that also houses the farmer’s market. He has been growing peppers for the contest for the past three years and also sells them during the event.
“I love growing peppers,” he said.
The peppers partaking in the contest “couldn’t be any fresher,” Reid said. “They’re literally five minutes away.”
Reid tries all of the peppers himself because “it’s only fair.” His favorite pepper to grow and eat is the Lemondrop.
The process for cultivating next year’s peppers starts now as he selects the peppers and seeds for his next harvest.
The peppers (or, half of them, at least):
- Jalapeño – Starting off slow, the Jalapeño isn’t the spiciest pepper but it has plenty of flavor. And, as someone who can’t stand the taste of peppers, it wasn’t the way to start a competition. Solid 2 out of 5.
- Yatsufusa – This tiny little pepper is exactly what you want in a spice contest. Small and thin, it has a kick but can be eaten quickly. And thankfully for me, not a lot of flavor. Rating: 5 out of 5.
- Lemondrop – Once I bit into this pepper, I knew I was going down soon. Not only is the Lemondrop a spicy pepper, it is also meaty and has tons of flavor. For people who like that, pop off, but for me, it didn’t sit well. 1 out of 5.
- Red Savina – 3 out of 5 for Red Savina. It is small and spicy, which puts it ahead of the Jalapeño. But after eating it, my throat felt like hundreds of weevils were crawling through it, their tiny legs twitching and whirring. Let’s just say the spice was getting to me – “Spicier than I expected, but we’ll see what happens,” I told the host through the microphone.
- Habanero – Usually one of my favorite peppers as the base of a hot sauce, the Habanero caught me lacking when I tried to rawdog it.
I held up my white flag, the “MILK” sign, to signal my tap out. A large inflatable cow, alongside a glass of milk and the intro to the Surfari’s surf rock classic “Wipeout,” marked my – and five other competitors’ – surrender. According to Schmid, this was the highest number of competitors to ever cave in a single round: “That has never happened before!”
The competition intensified with the addition of Carolina Reapers and Dragon’s Breath – 1.64 million and 2.48 million heat units on the Scoville Scale, respectively – the hottest peppers known to man. Many of the defeated were unable to wait for the cow or milk, instead bolting backstage or to the riverfront to catch their breath, vomit or both.
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash played in the final minutes, taunting the few remaining participants, all of whom had tears and redness in their eyes. One had his eyes closed in meditation, prayer or pain – or maybe all three. No longer able to speak into the microphone, Schmid turned up his taunting.
“Speaking of pain, let’s go back to our contestants!” Schmid announced after another round of pepper-themed audience trivia.
The victor:
Raj Muddu, dubbed the “Easton Capsaicin,” took home the title after runner-up Chris Spina could not handle another round of several Carolina Reapers. The owner of the local Tandoor Grill and last year’s runner-up, he was the favorite this year, according to several audience members. Muddu claimed his victory while donning a “Make Peppers Grow Again” hat.
After last year, Muddu thought he had to “give it another shot” to see if he could win. When asked if he will participate again next year, he responded, “I don’t think so.”
Muddu said he “generally” has a high spice tolerance, but “eating spicy foods here at a restaurant is very different from eating just plain peppers.”
The other contestants/survivors:
“In a weird way, I guess you could say I had fun,” runner-up Chris Spina said in between gulps directly from a gallon of milk. “I enjoy hot pepper, so I test my limits.”
“I wouldn’t say fun,” contestant Russ Cordis said of the competition. “I liked it on the square before, because there was an ice cream shop behind us.”
Concluding remarks:
“It’s a fantastically cruel tradition that people love to come out for,” Schmid said after the event.
He also emphasized how the peppers are grown locally: “I think that’s really the special part of it.”
“This year, I was especially surprised at how many entries were from Easton,” Emily Roland, the manager of the farmer’s market, said. “It’s awesome to see that there are that many people just from our community that want to have events like this and support events like this.”
She called Easton “a community of folks who are pumped about peppers.”
Walking down to the Farmer’s Market and being within the community was a flavorful experience. Even if you don’t like the taste of peppers, you can watch for free and try one of the other dozens of stands at the market after. It may be pepper-cisely what you were looking for.
Selma O’Malley ’26 and Makenna McCall ’27 contributed reporting.
Easton Capsaicin • Oct 8, 2024 at 8:37 am
Very nice article.