The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

New York CityNYC events & culture

High River Sauces presents the third annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo

High River Sauces presents the third annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo
19 May 2015
The editorial unit
Avatar
The editorial unit
19 May 2015

The Hot Sauce Expo was not for the faint of heart or the susceptible to heartburn. The Brooklyn Expo Center was filled with inflamed coughing, heaving exhales and whispery “whoas” as the heat of each sample wrestled tongues and taste buds. Grown men and women left stations in tears, and the culture and personality of this industry burned bright from every corner.

18483_805434166209900_7242431038235169899_nThis industry is unapologetically boisterous. They can be loud, they can be in-your-face, but they are never unfriendly. This is a crowd that doesn’t just have a passion for hot sauce – they have a passion for their field. We’re talking barbecue sauces, cooking oils, horseradish, spice blends, marinades, salsas and more, just sitting in one building ready for sampling. Then there were the guys and gals behind each booth with anywhere from five products to 20, ready to talk about peppers, heat levels, heat tolerance and cooking uses. Sure, they were there trying to sell, but it was universally obvious that for them this was about getting the right product to the right consumer.

Nonetheless, some failings stood out. Access was a cheap $10, but that basically gave you unlimited access to hot sauces. So unless you only planned to spend a few hours there or intended on making a meal of popcorn and chips, you were looking at about an additional $30-$40 for food and drink per person, and the options were pretty close to sample sized. Then, there’s the palette cleansing and neutralizing: there wasn’t much in this realm. It was sampling after sampling with only the chips at each station to reset the taste buds. Some guests came to the Expo prepared with pretzel necklaces. Farmland’s booth had samples of milk, but it was awkwardly placed outside, away from most of the hot sauce samples and not immediately obvious to attendees.

Overall, High River Sauces and the event’s governing body put on an excellent show that managed to spin what could have been an event of simple samples of hot sauce on little plastic spoons into a spectacle with many enjoyable, industry-related festivities. However, this isn’t amateur hour for any average Joe or Jane Doe. Here, jalapeños are for kids, the ghost pepper is a star and the reaper pepper is celebrated like the Merciless Pepper of Quetzalacatenango. They had a few hiccups, but if you like heat with your food, there’s no better way to get this much hot product all in one spot. 

★★★★★

Robert Malone
Photos: NYC Hot Sauce Expo 

For further information about the NYC Hot Sauce Expo and future events visit here.

Related Itemsbrooklyn expohighriversauceshot saucenycnychotsauceexponychse

More in New York City

Four New York theatre shows you need to see this winter

The editorial unit
Read More

Radio City Music Hall Rockettes star in New York Spectacular

★★★★★
Patricia Contino
Read More

Five bars in NYC to enjoy a classic cocktail

Mariana Howard
Read More

Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Belasco Theatre

★★★★★
Mariana Howard
Read More

Othello: A Dance in Three Acts at American Ballet Theatre

★★★★★
Patricia Contino
Read More

The Flatiron Hex at Dixon Place

★★★★★
Patricia Contino
Read More

Kopecky at Mercury Lounge

★★★★★
The editorial unit
Read More

Merrily We Roll Along at the Astoria Performing Arts Center

★★★★★
Patricia Contino
Read More

Teatro Hugo & Ines: Short Stories at HERE Arts

★★★★★
Patricia Contino
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • The Capote Tapes
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Dig
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Swimming Home: An immersive online experience
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Lupin
    ★★★★★
    Culture
  • Win a DVD bundle of House of Sand and Fog, Away From Her and Young Adam
    Competitions
  • Crobar: Music When the Lights Go Out
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Six books perfect for beating the winter blues
    Fashion & Lifestyle
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Uncategorised
  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Teatro Hugo & Ines: Short Stories at HERE Arts | Theater review
Merrily We Roll Along at the Astoria Performing Arts Center| Theater review