Great Dorset Chilli Festival

06/08/2026

🌶️🌶️What a fantastic weekend at the Great Dorset Chilli Festival! Thank you all for coming to this special corner of Dorset – wasn’t it a scorcher!

🌶️Both chilli eating competitions were won by ladies this year, Sian on Saturday and Amanda on Sunday. Congratulations to you both. The Chilli Plant Competition saw both classes being won by entries from outside the county. Come on Dorset, must try harder next year! More results below.

🌶️Thank you to all the bands & entertainers; competitors & supporters; my team on the gate & in Event HQ; traders, bars & streetfooders; car parkers, litter pickers and loo cleaners; and of course to all you brilliant visitors from near and far.

Much chilli love to you all xx

🌶️Results:

🌶️Cook-off Competition
Curry SATURDAY
1st North West BBQ
2nd Bull Ring BBQ
3rd Team Mala
People's Choice: Bull Ring BBQ

Chilli SUNDAY
1st The Wonkey Donkeys
2nd Joker Smokers
3rd Eppynt BBQ
People's Choice: Bunch of Swines

🌶️Chilli Sauce Competition

Mild 1st Callaloo Corner: Spicy Pineapple BBQ
2nd Yau's: Satay Sauce
3rd Gingerbeard's: Jerk Rum BBQ

Medium
1st Chilli Alchemist: Gold
2nd Spicy Rye's: Jerk and pineapple
3rd Jethro's: Red chilli and garlic

Hot 1st Big Ginger Sauce Co: Angel - Hairy Spice edit
2nd Bournemouth Chilli Bitz: Tropinaga Extraction
3rd Wiltshire Chilli Farm: Golden Bonnet

🌶️Chilli Plant Competition

CLASS 1: ROOSTER SPUR
1st Scott Moffat
2nd Andy Brooks

CLASS 2: ANY VARIETY
1st Matthew Trueick
2nd Scott Moffat
3rd Andy Storey

01/08/2026

🌶️🌶️A fantastic Day 1 at the Great Dorset Chilli Festival. Lots of winning going on! The cook-off saw 3 newbie teams in the top 3, the chilli eating went to 11 rounds ending with the super-super hot Remmert chilli. A winning chilli plant grown across the border in Hampshire; I've never seen so many people watching the talks and cooking demos; great tunes from the bands, lovely people, chilled vibe.

Gates open at 10.00am on Sunday. Tickets available on the gate. Full programme, see website for details www.greatdorsetchillifestival.co.uk

Venue: Stock Gaylard, Lydlinch, Sturminster Newton DT10 2BG

See you on Sunday!
Chilli love ###

01/08/2026

🌶️🌶️This weekend! 🌶️🌶️

Held at Stock Gaylard, Lydlinch DT10 2BG. Between Sturminster Newton and Sherborne, and not far from anywhere else!

10.00am until 5.00pm Tickets available on the gate.

Come and join us for the HOTTTEST food festival in Dorset!

The answers to most frequently asked questions are on the website at www.greatdorsetchillifestival.co.uk

30/07/2026

🌶️🌶️ What's On this weekend at the Great Dorset Chilli Festival.

Learn how to make a decent chilli sauce or the best pot of chilli, surf and turf recipes from Cranborne, hear all about harvesting oysters off the coast of Poole, using chilli in medical biochemistry and how to grow chilli plants.

Listen to the bands, join in the chilli eating competition; vote in the chilli sauce competition; enter a plant into the plant competition; help judge the UK Chilli Cook-off competition; learn some circus skills; watch the falconry; have a pint of Dorset ale; have a chilli cocktail, a pancake or brownie; stuff yourself with delicious international streetfood because the diet starts again on Monday.

Join us at Stock Gaylard, DT10 2BG between Sherborne and Sturminster Newton.

Tickets available on the gate

27/07/2026

🌶️Come and join us this weekend!🌶️

26/07/2026

On Wednesday I arranged to meet Bournemouth Echo reporter Ben Sturt at the Weymouth51 kitchen in Stur for a tasting of some Dorset-made chilli sauces including Chilli Alchemist, Dorset Chilli Shop and Grim Reaper Foods. Ben then entertained us by eating a fresh Carolina Reaper (about 1,600,000 SHU).

I'm not sure he should have had a second bite though......

Scoffing down the Carolina Reaper — one of the hottest chillies in the world — was probably a bad idea in hindsight. Especially when I was…

24/07/2026

🍲🌶️🍲🌶️ The BIGGEST EVER cook-off competition!

Coming to the Great Dorset Chilli Festival on 1st and 2nd August, the UK Chilli Cook-off are delivering the biggest cookoff event they’ve ever done!! And this year they’ll make more tasting spoons available for the public vote! But hurry, they will sell out as always!

22/07/2026

🌶🌶 Chilli Eating Competitions 🌶🌶

We are now open for entries for the Chilli Eating Competitions, which take place at 4pm on both Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd August.

If you can talk the talk, now walk the walk. Download an entry form from the website and email it to us.

https://www.greatdorsetchillifestival.co.uk/the-festival/

21/07/2026

The first padron harvest of the season. A bit of olive oil, lots of sea salt and straight on the BBQ. From plant to plate in 7 minutes. Delicious!

17/07/2026

Woohoo! It's the weekend!!

Have a good one everybody, and see you in 2 weeks for the Great Dorset Chilli Festival (1 & 2 Aug).

Chilli Love x