JUST suck and it and see...

That is the challenge going out to contestants taking part in an eye-watering chilli eating competition in Beaumaris.

The Little Chilli Shop, on Church Street, sells every type of chilli and related product, including chilli powders, jams, chutneys, plants, seeds, hot sauces, and even chilli chocolate and it also boasts some of the world’s hottest examples.

It is these serious spices like the Yellow Nobbly Thing, rated at 1.2million Scovilles, and the Carolina Reaper at 2.5million Scovilles (the Scoville being a measurement of the spicy heat of chili peppers, measured in Scoville heat units (SHU), and relates to the capsaicin concentration) that will heat up events at the annual chilli eating contest being held at the Beaumaris Food Festival.

The Yellow Nobbly Thing, amongst other chillies and produce, has been developed by the shop in conjunction with award winning Medwyn’s of Anglesey.

The contest, is being held at 2pm, on Sunday, and is just part of the Beaumaris festivities which will see thousands of foodies flock to Beaumaris. 

Sue and Tim Silcock who are hosting the contest, say their shop, which has been open for the past three and a half years, is fast becoming a tourist attraction in its own right.

It has just received recognition as a finalist in the Welsh Independent Retailer of the Year Awards – being held in Cardiff on September 12 – and it has won a 2017 Great British Food Award for its Bad Boy Sauce.

“People are coming far and wide to see the shop and it is amazing how it has taken off since we started in business on 10th of the 10th in 2010!

“We started out just selling a few chillies, chutneys and plants outside our house with an honesty box, but we have now grown and grown, there is a now huge interests – nationally and interationally, in all things to do with chillies,” said Sue.

“The contest is a fun part of the Beaumaris festival, we started out with 10 entries last year and they gradually dropped off, three chickened out before they even started! Eating hot chillies is not for the faint hearted!

“We have lots of milk and yoghurt on hand to cool people’s mouths, though usually only a few make it past the first few bites! Women strangely seem to be quite good at it! It’s all good fun!

“There is no advice we can give although some people practice by building up their tolerance by eating chillies in preparation. You never know just how hot a chilli is going to be – we have had ones that make your face go numb for several hours! 

“ The only way to know is to suck it and see!”