Zest Fest

One of the cool events that shows up in Fort Worth is the annual Zest Fest. Zest Fest is put on by Chili Pepper Magazine and is chock full of folks showing off their salsas, rubs, seasonings and other fiery foods.

Also at the festival today was Miss Texas. I took the opportunity to say "Hi" and shake her hand. Now, this will let you know why people come to Zest Fest. There was a 10 to 15 minute wait to sample the wares of the booths surrounding Miss Texas. There was no line to meet Miss Texas.

Most of what was offered for sampling was relatively tame, often too hot for V, but nothing to raise a sweat over. I got a bit careless and was heaping the sauces and salsas onto chips or bread, sampling my way through the convention center. My carelessness caught up with me.

While at the CaJohns Fiery Foods booth, I loaded up a tortilla chip with pure fire. It is nine hours later and parts of my mouth are still numb from the experience. I had been bitten by the Black Mamba.

Break a sweat? I was dripping sweat, my hair was wet. This is some hot stuff. It started out hot, then just got hotter, and hotter, and hotter. I think the intensity peaked around 5 or 6 minutes after the initial taste. Heck, I was afraid to kiss V for an hour after. Didn't want to burn her with the after affects of my encounter with the Mamba.

I walked out of the hall with a couple rubs and sauces, and one salsa. I did not have a jar of the Black Mamba, maybe next time.