The ChileFoundry » Stuart McAllister

Hot-Headz – Hot Sauce Tasting on Real Radio XS

Hot Juan — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:22:19 +0000

Hot-Headz Ringstinger

Stuart from Hot-Headz did some live tasting with the crew from Real Radio XS live on air.

They are tasting 5 sauces from the Hot-Headz range:-

So if you want to enjoy these at home visit the Hot-Headz web-site

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Hot-Headz! Visit to Chillifest, Tampere, Finland 20th & 21st August 2011

Hotheadz — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:17:33 +0000

Chilifest Finland

In 2010 the Finnish city of Tampere, Finland held a show called Naga Fest and although I was invited I couldn’t attend – gutted or what?! It was a great success so they decided to run the show again this year at a new location in the town square in Tampere, under the new name of Chillifest.

Well this year I was invited along again to assist my distributor Poppamies, on the stand selling Hot-Headz! products to the masses of Finnish chilliheads that turned up. Believe me, I didn’t know what I was in for…….

This show was like the Chilli Fiesta at West Dean 15 years ago. Masses of chilliheads and a handful of exhibitors! The event was free for the public to enter and it was estimated that between 20-30,000 people attended over the weekend.

Having arrived late in the evening my hosts managed to make sure I had time for a few beers and a quick catch up before crashing out. The following day was spent in preparation for the show. The warehouse was buzzing with activity and radio and TV crews were calling most of the day for interviews with my great friend Marko Suksi, the show organiser.

The show was set up in a day and a half with an enormous drive on stage that unfolded from a truck to form an impressive stage – like some kind of Transformer toy! The final touches were made to the stands on Saturday morning with Hot-Headz! being allocated an impressive space at the end of the stand to display our products. The first day opening times were mid day to midnight Saturday so I had visions of sampling product for a while, wandering around other stands talking to exhibitors and having a few beers. No chance! There were 8 staff behind the stand and we sold pretty much hand over fist all day long until about 8pm when it slowed from mayhem to manageable as the visitors enjoyed the bands, fire jugglers and other entertainment, none of which I got to see!

ChiliFest Finland 2011 - Copyright Matti Suksi

The highlight of the day for many was the Naga eating contest. The winner consumed 181.57g of fresh Naga – the equivalent of 27 fresh pods! A new Finnish record. All these results were reported in real time on-line by the Finnish Chilli Association. These guys were kind enough to bring me a bowl of their home made chilli both days to keep me going!

Other stands included several hot sauce sellers, chilli sausage vendors (very nice habanero sausage!), Mexican foods, Chipotle Beer, fresh chillies from Finnish growers, Chilli plants, growing kits and so on, plus the essential bar!

All day long the “Too Hot To Handle” girls were doing a great job out in amongst the crowds sampling out products. Bands played the main stage in between other events which meant that the atmosphere remained constantly upbeat.

The next day was expected to be slower with opening times from mid day to 7pm but it was just as busy. Exhausted I crashed around 11pm and my thoughts drifted to the past couple of days. The Finnish people are really friendly and polite and it was an absolute pleasure to meet so many of them in my favourite environment – surrounded by hot sauce! What struck me was their sheer enthusiasm for new flavours, their willingness to try new products and of course their excellent English, without which I would have been stranded. Several times a day came announcements on the PA that “Special Guest” Stuart McAllister from Hot-Headz! in the UK was present which was pretty cool once I got over the embarrassment of people coming to the stand to shake hands and say hello.

ChiliFest Finland 2011 - Copyright Matti Suksi

Every exhibitor had great sales and many sold out half way through the Sunday.

Monday was spent visiting the supermarkets to see our products on shelf and get a feel for the food trade in Finland. They don’t seem to be monopolised by large chains over there so it is possible and profitable to sell to several small chains of shops.

Monday evening was reserved for a post show party hosted at Marko’s restaurant “Roast” but prior to that I was treated to a tour of Tampere by my friend Jarkko in his brand new Porsche convertible. It was so good to see the city, which has enormous lakes on both sides of it, the parks and lakeside houses and soak up some of the culture. The tour ended with us reaching Roast and I have to say the food was absolutely excellent. I had a smoked fish starter with nettle pesto which was amazing followed by a Habanero Burger. It was hot but manageable and absolutely delicious. My friend Lasse ordered a Naga Burger which he offered me to try – a couple of bites and I was done! Anyway I had to leave space for the beer, Jaloviina the “noble booze”, Black Russians, White Russians, drinks I couldn’t pronounce and more beer that fuelled the Karaoke evening Marko had planned for us!

Last memory was singing (or rather shouting) along to a duet with Marko of Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills!

Having never been to Finland before I didn’t know what to expect but I have to say it was a really wonderful experience from start to finish (no pun intended!). In summary I’d say that I was treated like a king by some of the friendliest, most genuine people one could ever wish to do business with and I’m proud to call them my friends.

Along with all the exhibitors taking part they have made Tampere the Chilli Capital of Finland.

Tampere Rocks!

http://www.chilifest.fi/

[Show as slideshow]

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Sinful Sauces Wicked Red Pepper Tomato Serrano

Hotheadz — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:12:41 +0000

Sinful Sauces - Wicked

Hello there fellow Hot-Headz! This is the first product review I’ve done for the Chilefoundry so please bear with me. As I’ve been lucky enough to be in a position to taste literally hundreds of hot sauces in my role as “Chief Hot-Head!” I can tend to waffle on a bit. Get me in a pub and put a pint in my hand, mention hot sauces and that’s it – you just can’t shut me up! So, I’ll try to get on with it….

Having said that I think it will be hard to keep this review on track without gushing. Anyone who knows me will know that I’m no sychophant (to save anyone looking it up = “Arse Kisser!”) but every now and then in my aforementioned priviledged position I sometimes get to taste some extraordinarily good sauces. I do get some real snakes piss sent to me also so it’s not all rock ‘n’ roll! Some time ago I met a couple of really nice people who came to me saying that they wanted to make their own sauces (yawn, here we go again) but wait, there was something different about these guys. To sum it up, that one thing that made the difference in my opinion – ATTENTION TO DETAIL.

“Who are these Hot Sauce Heroes?” I hear you cry! Well they are Paul & Kelly and the company is called Sinful Sauces. Not content with just making some very fine test batch sauces, these guys set about researching their market, flavours, raw materials and ingredients in some considerable depth. The concept they came up with is Seven Deadly Sins (I know, why hadn’t I thought of that? I even checked my Top Secret list of Hot Sauce names and concepts, you know the ones that come to you in your sleep or when you’re day dreaming or driving along listening to music…oh am I the only weird one here?!).

Now one look at the label design and quality of print will tell you all you need to know. These Sinful Dudes are serious about making an impression. The branded safety seals are a really nice touch that most sauce making start ups don’t go for due to budget. These guys have jumped straight in to make their first full production items look and feel simply superb. Well what about the sauce?

The sauce I’ve chosen from their initial selection of seven is called Wicked – Red Pepper Tomato Serrano and it’s been a favourite of mine since I polished off a test batch bottle in no time some months ago.

Ingredients: Roasted Red Peppers (35%), Tomatoes (24%), Red Onions, Red Serrano (10&), Sugar, Red Wine Vinegar, Garlic, Black Pepper, Rosemary, Olive oil, Salt.

It comes in a UK standard “Lea & Perrins” 150ml bottle.

Now when I first tried this sauce it reminded me of a Sriracha sauce – good on garlic and up there with the heat. However, the full production batch is even better. On opening the bottle you are hit with a strong roasted pepper smell with a really fresh tomato undertone. Joining these flavours to lightly dance on your tongue is a slight sweetness that works really well. Then the heat of the Serrano chillies kicks in. Now I regard the Serrano as a much overlooked chilli which is why we included a Serrano Pepper Sauce in our own Hot-Headz! range and I think it is the perfect match for this recipe. It’s well rounded heat builds to a decent enough heat level to gain your attention but does not blow you away by any stretch of the imagination. This sauce works very well with most meats and is sublime with bacon sarnies. It’s so fresh and almost fluffy in it’s consistency that I’ve found it an absolute must for pasta dishes. Fish like tuna and swordfish would gladly jump on to dry land and throw themselves onto your plate if they knew this sauce was waiting for them!

At £4.99 per 150ml bottle it represents good value for money for a hand made speciality sauce.

All in all an extremely impressive sauce from a new company that’s destined to go places.

See www.sinfulsauces.co.uk or www.hot-headz.com for more details or to order on-line.

Flavour	*********~
Heat	******½~~~
Packaging	**********
Value	********~~
Overall	*********~

Editors Note: Our reviewer is Stuart McAllister owner of Hot-Headz and well know hot sauce expert..

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See www.sinfulsauces.co.uk for more details or to order on-line visit www.hot-headz.com

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Meet Your Maker – Hot-Headz

Darth Naga — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:57:21 +0000

Right! time for me to introduce a NEW feature here at the Chilefoundry! This is an idea myself and Hot Juan have had for some time, but last week was the first proper chance we got to actually implement it, the idea we had was for a series of featurettes based on different chilli and hotsauce manufacturers and distributors based in the UK and we shall visit these people and then make a short documentary type video on each one!

I decided to call it “Meet your maker” as i felt that was title that best fits the series!

The original idea was to do one long video and go from there, BUT due to Youtube restraints we can only upload it in 10 min chunks, which as it turns out is a good idea as now you can choose the content you want to see!

So the day started off with me standing outside Hot-Headz HQ on a blazing hot summer day in Stroud knocking on the door, luckily for me Stuart was in work that day and not off attending one of the many meetings he has, busy man is Stu!! Stuart invited me inside and then proceeded to give me a little history on Hot-Headz and how the name became famous! If you wanna know a little more about the Company and the people behind it then watch this intro!

After that little bit of history Stuart went on to give me a little tour of one of the Hot-Headz warehouses, and we came across a few sauces that caught my eye, me being the curious (Nosey) type i decided this was a prime opportunity to dig into Stuarts vast knowledge of Hotsauces and who makes them.

And then came my favourite part of the trip…Stuart invited me to see the one room that not alot of people get to see, his own personal sauce collection or the “Hot room” as he calls it!
This is TRULY a site to behold, its a sauce collectors dream and i felt truly priviledged that Stu allowed us to film inside the room!

So there you have it, the ins and out of Hot-Headz HQ and the people behind it all, Even though the last video says it all i just want to thank Stuart McAllister for letting us film inside his headquarters, Hot Juan for doing all the driving and making this visit possible and Mrs Naga for filming it all for us! As a rare treat i will sign off with a little tasting video we did at Hot-Headz HQ where Stuart himself actually joined us and gave his views on a couple of sauces, so check this vid out and see just what the Godfather of the UK hotsauce movement has to say! Till next time chilefanz, may the sauce be with you!

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Darth Naga Reviews Cajohn’s Mongoose

Darth Naga — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:27:34 +0000

Okay…where do I start?? how about OMFGTHISSAUCEISSOBLOODYDAMNHOTITREALLYFOOKINGHURTS….

Cajohn's Mongoose Hot Sauce

Okay now thats out of the way, lets crack on with the review. The sauce myself and Binbagz reviewed a couple of days ago is a hot one to say the least, but then thats not surprising considering who actually makes it! Cajohn is a guy from Columbus, Ohio who started out life as a Fire chief with the Columbus fire department, but after a while he realised that putting fires out was’nt his thing, and that he preferred starting fires..in peoples mouths!

Ingredients: Bhut Jolokia chiles, Fatalii chiles, Vinegar, Natural flavours.

(Review bottle kindly supplied by www.hot-headz.com)

“Mongoose” is one hell of a sauce it has to be said, my experiences with Cajohn’s sauces have’nt been great to say the least but this sauce has truly converted me! It all starts with this awesome little black gift box, that has what looks like a mongoose on the front coming out of the dark with a snake in its teeth, couple with the title this seriously looks like the cover of some horror b-movie and the contents tell a pretty similar tale!

The bottle inside is much smaller than most sauce bottles as you can see from the video, it looks a little like a medicine bottle and at 59ml alot of people are gonne be thinking “Hang on a minute, thats a bit crap for £8!” but fear not!, if I did’nt think it was worth buying I would slate it as opposed to sing its praises, if theres one thing my readers know of me its that I am honest and fair in my reviews, and this is no different!

Take a look at the video below and i’ll see you on the other side!

SEE??? SEE THAT???!! when I said this sauce was insane I bloody well meant it! As myself and Binbagz have pointed out during the video, the extract flavour (Cajohn puts his extract under the heading “natural flavours”, mainly because it is a natural product!)is very well hidden by both the Naga (YAY!) and the Fatalii chillis and as such this makes a very nice flavoured sauce that literally grabs you by the plums with its heat level and won’t let go unless you ask really, REALLY nicely!

My review bottle was supplied by Stuart Mcallister of Hot Headz! and as such you can purchase this stuff right NOW over at www.hot-headz.com for £7.99 a bottle, which may seem pricey to some, but trust me, its worth every penny and this is a sauce that you won’t get through in a hurry, you only need to use a couple of drops in a meal for 2 or 4 and that will give it a cracking kick!

Until next time my chile Padawanz! use the sauce!!

Flavour	*******~~~
Heat	***********
Packaging	*********~
Value	****~~~~~~
Overall	*******~~~

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Darth Naga Reviews Hot-Headz Naga Sauce

Darth Naga — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:34:41 +0000

Word up my chilli compadres! here I am once again with another hot sauce review to brighten up an otherwise boring work day! The sauce i’m reviewing today comes from one of the grandmasters of the UK hotsauce scene, none other than Stuart McAllister aka “Dr Hotz” who runs the company “Hot Headz” (henceforth known as HH).

Hot-Headz Naga Sauce

Stu started HH back in 1994 and over the past 16 years it has become not only one of the best places on the net for import hot sauce, but they also make some damn fine sauces themselves, including my personal all time favourite “Who Dares Burns“.

But enough about me and my favourite things, lets crack on with this mouthwatering review!

Ingredients: tomato, water, onion, sugar, vinegar, naga chilli, ginger, garlic, salt and sunflower oil.

(review bottle kindly supplied by www.hot-headz.com)

Right, I’m not sure if we have done a feature on it yet (we definitely should!) but if you hadn’t noticed, HH have done a major re-branding across their entire own range of sauces, and amongst the re-brands there are a couple of sauces that have had the recipes improved, one of these is their “Naga sauce”. Hot Juan reviewed the naga sauce way back in may of last year (oh how time flies) and he found it to be very nice and thus gave it a good 3.5 out of 5.

Now I spoke to Stuart about his Naga sauce, as I still have a bottle barely touched, for the simple reason that it was wayyyyyyy to watery for me, the flavour was amazing but the consistency was too runny and lacked body. This “New improved recipe” Naga sauce therefore caught my eye and as such I HAD to review it!

The bottle looks absolutely amazing, the new HH logo and design of the labels is something that has really revamped HH in my eyes, the label contains the name of the sauce, its ingredients and a little about hot headz themselves along with a new improved chilli rating! This particular sauce has 5 chilli’s which obviously means its bloody hot!

I twisted the cap off and poured some out, instantly noticing the pungent smell of both garlic and ginger with the Naga lingering in the background making sure it wasn’t going to be ignored!

The consistency is VASTLY improved, it now actually has little chunks of Naga flesh and seeds throughout, the sauce has a slight orangey red colour to it with flecks of white and it pours beautifully, I wasted no time in placing the spoon into my mouth to fully savour the flavour and heat of this improved sauce.

Immediately I was hit with a slight sweetness which though unexpected certainly complimented the ginger and garlic well, a hint of Naga flavour was also present though perhaps not as much as I would have liked. The heat was piercing, my tongue immediately reacted to the heat by recoiling a little as the pain spread across my lips and the roof of my mouth. The heat was a lingering one, it seemed to hang around for a good 5 or so minutes before easing off enough for me to continue writing this review!

This is one fantastic Naga sauce, the heat and flavour are a perfect combination that seem to work well and I could imagine this sauce being good splashed over eggs, fish, chips and definitely burgers!! With barbecue season upon us you’d be mad not to go to www.hot-headz.com and pick up a bottle of this for a mere £3.99 which considering its many uses is a bargain price!!

Until next time my chilli padawanz, may the sauce be with you, always!!

Flavour	9/10
Heat	7/10
Packaging	9/10
Value	8/10
Overall	9/10

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Hot-Headz – Who Dares Burns 2nd Assault Video Review

Darth Naga — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:06:08 +0000

Hot-Headz - Who Dares Burns 2nd Assault

Okay, so my review today started last week, a two part review, one part text, the other part video! The sauce WE reviewed comes from a well known supplier here in the UK known simply as “Hot-Headz”, Stuart McAllister sent me a bottle of his hottest product, and probably the hottest table sauce in the UK to date!

It all started on a Wednesday night when I texted my friend Jody and asked him if he wanted to do one of my stupidly hot sauce reviews with me on video for a laugh, to which he agreed! it transpired the next day that he was actually drunk the night before and had agreed to the feat of madness whilst in his drunken stupor, nevertheless a man of his word, he sat and did the review with me whilst sober this time, though I am starting to think he wished he hadn’t!

Ingredients: Vinegar, hot chile peppers (19%), pepper extract (14%), onion puree, spices, salt, xanthan gum (E415)

“Who dares burns 2nd assault” is the sauce that Jody drunkenly agreed to try, and as i showed him the bottle before the camera started rolling he told me he was a little scared, but excited at the same time and more importantly, ready.

The bottle itself is a standard 148ml bottle used across Hot-Headz entire range of sauces, the label itself is very reminiscent of the “Who Dares Burns” label, with the winged chilli taking pride of place on the front of the black label, albeit with the wings being MUCH more fiery than usual, the little thermometer on the side also goes off the scalle and ends in a lil eruption at the top just to give you an idea of how hot this stuff is!
The sauce inside is a deep red in colour, a really angry looking sauce, and without even smelling it you KNOW its gonna hurt alot! it has alot of seeds supended within and is of a nice pourable consistency too.

I popped the cap on the bottle and had a good sniff before the video, and i could smell only two things…Chipotle and Extract, that was it! But in all honesty Stu did’nt make this for people who like it mild, he made it for the psycho’s among us that have tried the hottest stuff America can dish out and want just a bit more heat, thus WDB2 was born!

Letting the camera roll with Mrs Naga at the helm, i explained to you guys at home a little about the sauce, then popped the lid and gave it a shake before pouring a little…actually the video explains it all:

So there you have it! possibly the hottest sauce in the UK and certainly one to rival the American “ultra hot” sauces easily! one of the leaders in the “stupidly hot beyond all doubt” movement that seems to be becoming more popular as time goes on! The only sauces that come close to this level of heat are “Satan’s shit” by CPP, “10 Minute burn” by CPC, and “Nitro Naga biohazard edition” from Scorchio, of course there are a few US sauces that come close to this but i prefer to focus on good british sauces!!

“Who Dares Burns 2nd Assault” is available from www.hot-headz.com for a paltry £7.50 a bottle and if you spend £30 or more before the 20th of December you get a hot sauce gift pack worth £12.99 for nowt!!! gratis!! free!! FOC!!! so what the hell are you waiting for?? get your arse over to www.hot-headz.com NOW and buy some sauce! oh and tell Stu that Darth said hi!

Till next time my chilemaniacz!! The sauce is strong in you all!!