Friday 7 August 2015

Feeling Hot Hot Hot at the Great Dorset Chilli Festival!

One of our favourite things to do in the Summer is visit a food festival and fortunately in Dorset, we have lots to choose from! Last weekend we went along to The Great Dorset Chilli Festival - now in it's 5th year, it's a mecca for chilli enthusiasts and great day out for the family. It was a beautiful day and perfect weather for a festival!



The festival was on all weekend but we decided to go along on the Sunday morning. The gates opened at 10am so we arrived shortly after and managed to park relatively close to the entrance. (The later you arrive, the further away you have to park!). Tickets cost us £7.50 per adult with kids under 10 going free which is very reasonable. We were given a map/guide as we arrived but we just decided to have a wander round as it was still pretty quiet. 

My husband had skipped breakfast so the smells of the food stalls enticed him into buying a wild boar hot dog to stop his tummy rumbling! It may be the Chilli Festival but there were lots of other food options available that weren't quite so spicy. His hotdog tasted delicious and I was half tempted to buy one for myself even though I'd already had breakfast!



The festival has certainly grown lots since our last visit in 2013 and there were lots and lots of stalls to look round. There were chilli oils, chilli sauces, chilli beer, chilli chocolate, deep fried chillies, dried chillies, chilli ice-cream.....basically any chilli product you could ever wish to buy! I bought some cheese, red onion and garlic bread which looked and smelt amazing whilst my husband was loitering at the chilli beer tent. Aside from all the lovely things to buy and eat, there was a jam packed itinerary for the day featuring cooking demonstrations, a chilli sauce competition, chilli talks, live music, falconry displays and a chilli eating competition. Not for the faint hearted that one!



Elliot could see a Minions bouncy castle in the distance so we were dragged off to the kids area which had lots of things to entertain the small people. Unfortunately he was too young for the bouncy castle (it was MASSIVE!) but there was a toddler friendly bouncy thing that he enjoyed going on. One of the stalls was Alfredo the Magic Man who was dressed as pirate and making parrots and pirate swords out of balloons and then making the kids walk the plank! When it was Elliot's turn he went very mute and he didn't really know what to make of Alfredo - but he was well impressed with his pirate accessories!! It was free too which is always a bonus. Especially as the parrot popped 10 minutes later ;)



The festival was starting to get really busy towards lunchtime so we decided to grab an early lunch and meet up with our friends who were there too. Paul was still full from his big hot dog but he did manage to eat some deep friend chillies! Elliot and I shared a big bowl of freshly made paella which was really really nice, much better than my paella attempts at home.

After lunch we finished looking round the stalls and my husband bought some chilli oils and some chilli pork scratchings. (He ate these last night and they blew his head off!). He also bought Elliot a giant sombrero - just what every toddler needs! Elliot was making us laugh by dancing to the mariachi band, his sombrero was bigger than him!



After a quick ice-cream stop and a catch up with some more friends we decided to call it a day. Elliot was starting to flag a bit and we didn't want to be tempted into spending anymore money on stuff we didn't need ;)

A great day out for all the family!


Linking up with the following...



MyLifeMyLoveSummer days
The Dad NetworkEntertaining Elliot
Red Rose MummySingle Mother Ahoy Popular Posts

23 comments:

  1. Wow this festival sounds like it was soooo much fun. My husband would have loved it, he's well into hot food. I can't believe they had chilli ice cream, what on earth must that taste like?! That's great they had loads of kids activities too, it sounds really family friendly there. LOVE Elliot in his sombrero, he looks so cute! Quite the little model there, Tyler would have chucked it off haha! #summerdays Sabrina xx

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    1. My husband said the chilli ice-cream was a bit tame but I didn't want to risk trying it, I stuck with my mint choc chip!! xx

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  2. Oh I would love that, it would be right up my street! However the rest of my clan shy away from the odd chilli - weird I know! I would have loved to have tried the chilli ice cream. It's great that they have catered so well for the children and made it a real family day out. I would have loved this too this week x

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    1. Yeh it's really great for children, my little man loved it! xx

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  3. I'm also a big fan of anything hot and spicy. Looks great!

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  4. Oh wow, thanks so much for sharing this. I always see posters for this when its on but never think to go because I don't like chilli or spicy food but now I know it's not just that! It falls on my friends anniversary and her husband always says he will take her a treat but she is allergic to chillies! I love it that there was a minion bouncy castle, my kids would have been right on that too. Thanks so much for linking up with#thisweekiveloved x

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    1. I like a little bit of chilli but I have to be in the right mood, when we went to the festival I didn't have anything chilli related to eat but still had amazing food! You should definitely go next year! xx

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  5. This looks incredible! I was sold when I first saw Chilli festival...we would love that and the food sounds so good. Great that they had things to keep the little ones entertained too, what a great day out! xx #summerdays

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    1. It was brilliant, I hope this one just keeps getting bigger and better! xx

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  6. Sounds like a great day out! My husband hates spicy food so would cry if I suggested going, but sounds like there's plenty for chilli-haters too! #SummerDays

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    1. hah I bet he'd find something nice to eat without having to touch a chilli! xx

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  7. When I saw this post I was immediately reminded of one of my favourite Simpsons episodes where Homer goes to a chilli festival. I do really fancy going to one myself. Looks like you had lots of fun anyway!
    Thanks for linking up to #SummerDays again!

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    1. You should definitely go if you hear of one near you, it's always a nice day out! xx

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  8. That sounds just like the sort of festival I would love. I adore chillies and usually grow several species ... although this year I struggled to get them to germinate so only have two types and I am unsure how hot they are going to be. #LoveWhereILive

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    1. There were lots of different types of chilli that people had grown. We also know the owners of a chilli farm here in Dorset where the Dorset Naga originated from! xx

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  9. I am not a fan of spicy food, although food in general I love! (A little too much, truth be told!) I love days like these though where you just go, support local businesses and enjoy meandering with the family! Looks great! #lovewhereilive

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    1. Lol I'm the same, I just love food in general! These food festivals are brilliant because theres always something tasty to try and buy! xx

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  10. I love a good food festival, especially the little free taster plates everywhere! I once had chilli and chocolate ice cream at an annual festival close to us, it was delicious! Thanks for linking up with #summerdays

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    1. Oh yeh, the tasters are always great aren't they! I always make a beeline for the fudge and cheese ;) xx

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  11. I'm not really a chilli person but my other half would love this. He's been trying to grow chilli plants this year and he's very proud of the solitary chilli that they've produced so far.

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  12. Just my kind of thing. If only we lived nearer! Thanks for sharing it on #bigfatlinky

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  13. This look HOT (pardon the pathetic pun). I'm growing chilies this year so I have an unusual interest in them. Those deep-fried chilies have my mouth literally watering!

    Yummy!

    Oh So Gawjess
    #WHWH

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