A pub in Henley is celebrating the red hot fruits.
Regulars visiting during its Chilli Week will be able to try a range of dishes that incorporate the spicy flavour enhancers.
It won’t just be savoury dishes that get the chilli treatment.
Desserts, too, will tingle the tongue.
Chilli will garnish bread, soup, and prawn.
It will be liberally sprinkled on burger, pie and roast.
And it will even be the main feature of a specially themed pizza.
The Ultimate Chilli Pizza is served with a warning.
Brave diners are invited to attempt to eat all six slices of the meal.
Working their way clockwise, they start with mild chillies, and finish with the armagedon variety, which as the name implies, is extremely hot.
These, along with desserts laced with chilli caramel, chilli chocolate sauce and scotch bonnet chilli ice cream, will be available at the Flowing Spring pub and venue.
Nick from the venue says: “ We run various special food weeks throughout the year – such as sausage week, pie week, and mushroom week.
“We’ve been holding a chilli week for around six or seven years.
“It’s a real favourite with customers.”
Nick says that this is the best time of year to hold the event, because the chillies are at their freshest in September and October.
“The pizza challenge is great fun,” he says.
“Some people manage it relatively well, but others are less tolerant, and they’re hilarious to watch.
“Some of them make the mistake of thinking that it’s best to start with the hottest slice and get it over with, but that just blows your head off.”
Asked whether he has tried the chilli pizza challenge himself, Nick says:”I love chillies, and I have taken the challenge.
“But once was enough, and I leave it to others now.”
He explains that what he likes about chillies is that they are not only hot, but that they have very different flavours too.
“Our scotch bonnet ice cream is actually really fruity,” he says.
“Scotch bonnet chillies used to be the hottest variety.
“They’re shaped just like little bonnets, and our ice cream made with them is a really interesting mix of hot and cold.
“It’s a weird and wonderful menu that’s on offer, but we hope there’s something for everyone.”
The pub specialises in providing food that is vegan, vegetarian, dairy free and gluten free.
“Our menus show allergens, and we’ve won three different awards for our efforts.
“Most of our food is both gluten free and dairy free.
“ We either use alternatives to milk and wheat, or we leave them out altogether.
“It means that we have a very wide range of allergen free options, 80% of the menu, not just an apologetic offering.
“It’s important to us and our customers because a large number of them have a food intolerance.”
The Chilli Week takes place at The Flowing Spring.
It runs from Tuesday, October 25 to Sunday, October 30.
To see the menu and to find out more about the pub visit: www.theflowingspringpub.co.uk or call 0118 969 9878
