The World Food Championships are still young in the culinary world but they’re well on their way to becoming a major institution. CEO Mike McCloud helms this ever growing ship. You’ll see him at qualifiers throughout the year as well as the main events in Kissimmee, Florida this November. He’s always down to talk about the WFC, where it’s been, is, and is going so I pinned him down for an interview on the food machine he and the team at MMA Creative put into motion.
Burn! Tested: Chehalem Ridge Pineapple Salsa
Hu-La-La Tropical Fruit Salsa from Chehalem Ridge Brands is the good kind of fiery fruit: pineappple, mango, and garlic getting down with the sting of jalapeno, habanero, and serrano fire.
Interview: WFC Competitor and Judge Kelly Lucas Shippey
Each year, BULL Grills runs its Burger Battle competitions around the country. The events are a series of qualifiers for the World Food Championships in November. Kelly Lucas Shippey not only won last year’s BULL Grills San Diego Burger Battle, she judged this year’s event. That makes her a double threat for anyone looking for tips on what to expect. Here’s what she had to say when we picked her noggin.
Update: AmberFyre Foods Under Sole Ownership
Man, when I interviewed Amber Button and she told me she was merging her two food gigs into one with her the sole captain at the helm, I thought she meant “sometime down the line,” not “sometime later this week.” Here’s what she posted on her Facebook page earlier today.
Interview: AmberFyre’s Amber Button
If you’ve run into CaJohn Hard on the hot sauce show circuit, you know he’s partnered up with Amber Button for the AmberFyre product line. I’ve really liked what’s come out of that team up so far, especially the black cherry bourbon barbecue sauce. That said, Amber herself was an unknown to me. CaJohn isn’t one to join forces with just anybody, so I called her up this week for an interview on AmberFyre and her adventures in spicy.
Diagnosing Chile Pepper Pests and Problems
In 1987, game and fish department authorities in New Mexico gave farmers permission to shoot deer out of season. The reason? The deer were raiding chile pepper fields–a heinous crime in our state. They ate two acres of pods and severely damaged three additional acres. Although such deer depredations are unusual, they illustrate the fact that peppers damaged by more things than insects and disease.
Reviewed: Chris Prieto and the Ultimate Book of BBQ
You may know champion ‘que man Christopher Prieto from seeing him on Barbecue Pitmasters. Earlier this year, he was the guiding force behind the tome, Southern Living Ultimate Book of BBQ. It’s not just a collection of recipes, though. Chris spent a lot of time pouring the lessons he’s learned at the pit into the book, sharing information that in some cases runs counter to conventional wisdom, but in a good way. Here’s what he had to tell me when I pinned him down for an interview.
