6 August 2025 - Written By
History was made in beautiful Suffolk as the League of Fire, along with our legendary ambassador, The UK Chilli Queen, made a fiery debut at the first-ever Suffolk Chilli Festival! Held at the picturesque Riverside Centre in Stratford St Andrew, the day was nothing short of spectacular โ and featured the inaugural ๐๐ฝ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ง๐ถ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต!
From the get-go, the atmosphere was electric. Not only did our chilli-loving crowd bring the heat, but we were thrilled to hear afterwards that every vendor and hot sauce producer left delighted, ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ก๐ก-๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐จ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ง๐. From gourmet chilli sauces to mouth-watering food, it was a celebration of spice like no other!
Of course, there was plenty of fun for the whole family too. Face painting, food, music โ even festival organiser Neil Armstrong (no, not that one!) joined in with a chilli painted on his face! ๐ถ๏ธ๐จ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐
This wasn’t your average chilli contest. As always, the League of Fire brought the professional firepower! The competition began with two giant habaneros โ each measuring a scorching 250,000 Scoville Heat Units EACH! From there, it only got hotter…
There was even a brutal JACK THE RIPPER hot sauce chug round.
The international spirit of the League was in full force as ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฏ โ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐โ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐, a towering 6ft 7 chilli champion from Hungary, flew in just to compete for the Ipswich Belt! Joining him was well-known UK Chilli Head and previous chilli contest winner ‘๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ’ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ, who travelled from Newark, as well as several bold local challengers ready to prove their mettle.
As the contest heated up, two Suffolk locals stole the spotlight โ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ขโ๐ง๐ผ๐ผk๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐ป ‘๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฒ’ ๐๐ผ๐น๐บ๐ฒ๐ โ both showing incredible heart, determination, and heat tolerance!
And after an edge-of-your-seat Death Race finale, it was Jakab Jรกnos who claimed victory and took home the prestigious Ipswich Belt!
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐?
The contest was captured in all its spicy glory โ so be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels for the official event video. Itโs guaranteed to be a must-watch!
With so much excitement, community spirit, and record-breaking heat, we have a strong feeling this wonโt be the last you see of us in Suffolk. Letโs just sayโฆ the Second Annual Suffolk Chilli Festival may already be on the cards! ๐
The new Ipswich Champion will now battle for the European Belt at the Sofia Chilli Fest ’25 in Bulgaria, in October! ๐ฅณ๐ฅ๐ฅ
