OK, so it would be presumptuous to really “review” an event that we put on, so this is more of a summary than a ranking.

Thanks to all who came out to the 7th annual Fiery Foods Festival at the North Market last weekend.

Kudos if you participated in our salsa, hot sauce, chili, hot pepper eating or wing eating contests. Extra kudos if you supported any of our fabulous merchants and fiery foods vendors by making a purchase.

Let’s give a big “cheers!” to those vendors who ventured in from far and near to sample their piquant concoctions for you. Blaze Gourmet trekked down I-71 from Cleveland; Crazy Uncle Jester travelled I-70 from Dayton; Heartbreaking Dawns drove in from Rosendale New York; Tracy from Jac’s Tailgaters wins the “furthest travelled” award for coming up from West Monroe, Louisiana; Mild to Wild crossed the state line from Indiana to join us; Patter Fam Sauces came from Wheelersburg, Ohio; Montezuma Brand, Urban Chefs and Ronz Sauces are all from Columbus, Ohio. We were thrilled to host them all and to make some new acquaintances who we hope to see back soon for other events (mark your calendars for Memorial Day weekend for a two day Grillmasters Festival).

During the course of the day many a prize was awarded. We commenced the day with a homemade salsa contest. Sandi Kraft from Portage, Indiana took first prize with her spicy, sweet salsa. Donna Potts of Reynoldsburg claimed second place with her “poor man’s caviar with mango” salsa. Thanks to additional participants Shanda Behrens, Jessica Drusbacky, Al Goldenberg, Betty Huddleston, Bill Kraft, Tony Kosloski, Tim Nelson, Carson Quillin, Nancy Radke, Philip Radke, Steve Rosegger (with help from Albe Harlow), Senta Rousseau, Paul Waltermeyer and Todd Voss.

Always a fan favorite, the Chef Chili Challenge maxed out its registration this year with entries from fifteen fabulous local restaurants. Joining the competition were Alana’s Food + Wine, Basi Italia, Burgundy Room, Café Corner, Candy Shack, Chef Butcher’s Creole Kitchen, Holy Smoke BBQ, Latitude 41, Marcella’s Polaris, North Market Poultry and Game (2009 Champs), O’Shaughnessy’s Public House, Pastaria, Two Caterers and Chefs Ken Smith and Michael Ciotola (formerly of Luce and LaScala). Retired Chef Michael Ciotola took second and proved that his culinary skills are still sharp with his Pork, White Bean and Green Chili Soup topped with Cilantro Lime Cream. Newcomer Reymundo Rico from Café Corner in Harrison West (recently under new ownership) won the boxing robe and was declared North Market Chili Champ 2010 for his Chili Pazoli. The mixture of slow-roasted, garlic-rubbed pork, cilantro, red pepper, sea salt and pork sausage basked in a “pazoli sauce” made with guajilla and ancho chilies, roasted purple tomatoes, roasted garlic, red onions, hominy, kidney and black beans was divine. As if that was not enough the dish was served with a side cup of spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate complete with homemade marshmallows. Kathleen Day, the new owner of Café Corner is carrying on the Nowak brothers tradition of creative cuisine nicely!

Then there were the plucky participants in the Amateur Chili Cook-off. In second place was former participant (and second place winner) Everett Smith with his Steak Poblano Chili. First prize went to Valerie Belt with her “Nacho Mama’s Chili”. Her winning dish included Baltika Beer from Grapes of Mirth, Jose Madrid’s salsa verde plus CaJohn’s chop house seasoning and salsa kicker. Thanks to Bethann Cannell, Betty Huddleston, John Kark, Matt Latham, Tim Leigh (with Shawn Wilmoth), Wanda Faye Little, Rich & Cindy Terapak, Todd Voss, Donna Wenzel and Buzzy Zorich for playing along with us!

Next up we held the Amateur Hot Sauce Contest. Stephanie Wilt walked away with the main prize for her “Smoky Garlic with a Kick” sauce. And second place (and the accompanying prize) was congenially shared between David Huddleston for his “Hudd’s Fury” hot sauce and Jim Sulayman for his “Flytown Fire #1″ hot sauce. Thanks to Anand Merchant, Jonathan Passow, Alex Silbajoris and Todd Voss for their mouth-watering hot sauce entries as well.

There were 15 intrepid entries to the Hot Pepper Eating Contest. Each participant was given 10 huge jalapeno peppers with the goal of devouring them first, or at least the most in four minutes. What resulted was a tie between Seth (last name unknown) and Jeff Stevenson of Crazy Uncle Jester’s with seven consumed each. The tiebreaker was determined by a single pepper given to each to be eaten the fastest. It should not be surprising that the gentleman in the jester cap came away the victor in this battle.

Last, but far from least the Hot Wing Eating contest culminated the day’s events. Fifteen participants fought their way through CaJohn’s assault after assault of spicier and spicier wings and sauces. Only a few of wing gladiators bowed out and the finale was determined, after 6 previous rounds of two wings each, by a speed round of five wings fastest consumed. Jason (feel free to fill in a last name for me as note-taking was scarce at this point), a last-minute entry took home the title for this event.

I am still awaiting photos and promise to update this post once I have them. The full set of images will also be on the North Market Flickr page here soon. In the meantime feel free to send me photos or videos to add here!

Spring seems so distant, but the North Market is here to help you melt away the winter blues and blahs with our 7th annual Fiery Foods Festival on Saturday, February 20th. Boasting everything from tropical entertainment to tongue-tingling foods the Fiery Foods Festival will put you in a sunny frame of mind!

Want to get directly in on the fiery foods action? Customers can take a shot at fame and fortune (OK, infamy and North Market gift certificates) in a number of contests. There’s the tried and true Amateur Salsa Contest. If you’ve got a good mix of chunky or pureed fruit or vegetable salsa, put it to the test against other homemade salsa makers. Or maybe you like to play with fire? For you we have the Amateur Hot Sauce Contest. He/she with the supreme salsa or hot sauce concocting skills will take home $100 in North Market and CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire gift certificates. Or one can prove their chili preparing proficiency in our ever-popular Customer Chili Cook-off. The competition will garner the first place winner $100 and the runner up $50 in North Market gift certificates. Finally, those with iron gullets can register on the day of the event for the Hot Pepper Eating or the Wings of Fire wing eating contest. Familiarity with the term “capsaicin” should suggest that neither of these contests is for the faint of taste bud, but victors will take home a plethora of CaJohns’ products as prizes.

In its fifth year the Chef Chili Challenge pits local chefs against one another as contenders for the title “North Market Chili Champ 2010,” a special trophy and $200 in North Market gift certificates. Participating chefs (at the time of press release) include representatives of Basi Italia, Chef Butcher’s Creole Kitchen, Latitude 41, Jerry Bullock, the returning champ from North Market Poultry & Game, Pastaria and Two Caterers. We are sure to have many more chef entrants by competition time!

“Many people don’t realize that Columbus is home to the most-awarded fiery foods purveyor in the country, CaJohn’s Fiery Foods.” said David Wible, Executive Director of the North Market. “We’ve been holding the Fiery Foods Festival since before CaJohn was a merchant at the market, but he has always been a participant. His presence as a merchant certainly spices up the Fiery Foods Festival even more.”

Fiery Foods Festival Schedule:
• 8 a.m. North Market opens, fiery foods vendors on premises
• 9 - 11 a.m., musical entertainment by the Andrew Hartman Trio
• 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., face painting by Rita
• 10 a.m., Amateur salsa-making contest in the Dispatch Kitchen
• 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Mark Wood Fun Show, cowboy tricks and balloon shapes
• 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., musical entertainment by The Piano Peddler
• 11 a.m. Free maracas, sombreros, balloons and chili-pepper shaped cookies for the kids (while supplies last)
• 11 a.m. Professional Chili Cook-off featuring chilis by local chefs
• 12 p.m. Amateur Chili Cook-off featuring chilis by customers
• 1 p.m., Amateur Hot Sauce contest in the Dispatch Kitchen
• 1 - 3 p.m., musical entertainment by the Island Breeze Duo
• 2 p.m., Hot pepper eating contest in the Dispatch Kitchen
• 3 p.m., Hot wing eating contest in the Dispatch Kitchen
• 3 - 5 p.m., musical entertainment by the Gadabouts
• Hot and spicy foods featured throughout the North Market all day

The North Market Fiery Foods Festival on Saturday, February 20 is a free event. Festival activities will take place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Market hours are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. To participate in the Salsa Contest, Hot Sauce Contest, Customer Chili Cook-off or the Chef Chili Challenge, and for more information, please call (614) 463-9664 or visit www.northmarket.com. Sign up for the Hot Pepper and Hot Wing Eating Contests will take place in the Dispatch Kitchen on the day of the event. A tasting fee of $5 enables onlookers to sample all of the chilis by both professional chefs and amateur contestants while supplies last. ###

1/4 cup *Dou chi fermented black beans
1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine
1/4 cup *Sichuan Gan Hai Jiao* dried Sichuanese chilies
2/3 cup *Hua Sheng Mi Cai You* peanut oil
1/2 cup *Dou Ban Jiang* Sichuanese chili bean paste
1/3 cup *Lao Zao* fermented glutinous rice wine
1 tsp *Hua Zhao* whole Sichuan pepper
6 qt *Xian Tang*everyday stock (recipe below) or Beef stock
2/3 cup Beef drippings or lard
3 inch *Sheng Jiang* piece of fresh ginger unpeeled
1Tbl Rock sugar

Feel free to add more *Sichuan Gan Hai Jiao* dried Sichuanese chilies and *Hua Zhao* whole Sichuan pepper as you like… Which I always do…

Mash black beans w/1Tblsp Shaoxing wine, with mortar and pestle until smooth.

Wash ginger and cut into slices about the thickness of a coin.

Snip all chilies into halves or 1 inch sections with scissors, discard seeds (seeds can be saved and planted for fresh chilies).

Heat 3 Tblsp of peanut oil in wok/pan over medium flame until hot but not smoking. Add all chilies and stir-fry briefly till they are crispy and fragrant, be careful not to burn the chilies as the process happens fast. Oil should sizzle gently around the chilies. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Pour oil in separate container and set aside, give the wok/pan a quick rinse and dry thoroughly.

Place the beef drippings and rest of peanut oil into wok/pan over medium-low heat. Until the drippings have melted completely. Then turn heat to medium. When oil just begins to smoke (200-300F), add all the chili bean paste and stir-fry for a minute or until the oil is a rich red and fragrant. The paste should sizzle gently take care not to burn. Remove from heat briefly if necessary so to avoid burning. When the oil has reddened, add the mashed black beans and ginger and continue to stir-fry till fragrant. Then pour 1 ½ quarts of the stock in and bring to boil. The rest out the stock will be used later to top off the Huo Guo (hotpot) as you eat.

When the liquid comes to a boil, add rock sugar and the rest of the Shaoxing rice wine, with the fermented rice wine and salt to taste.

Finally, add the prepared chilies and the Sichuan pepper according to taste and leave broth to simmer for about 15-20 minutes. This will bring all the flavors together and intensify the spiciness.

Xian Tang (*Everyday stock*) by Donte Allen

1-2lbs of pork bones
2-3lbs of chicken bones, necks, wings
2in piece of ginger peeled and crushed
2-4 spring onions
4 cloves of garlic

Add all large bones to a large stock pot. Cover with plenty of water so to submerge the bone and bring to a fast boil. Skim all scum from the top of the liquid. After the scum now longer forms reduce to low/medium heat. Then add ginger, spring onions, and garlic. Let simmer 2-3 hours… Strain liquid and allow stock to cool.

Stock maybe used immediately of refrigerated or frozen until ready to use. Refrigerated stock can be kept longer if you boil it up each day or two.

Sichuan Huo guo (Sichuan hot pot) by Donte Allen

Side dishes…You can have improvise, there is no rule to what you can have.

Here are some traditional dipping ingredients.

Meats:
Chinese wind dried sausage
Chicken breast, thinly sliced
Chicken thighs, skinless thinly sliced
Pork Tenderloin, thinly sliced
Lean beef or lamb, thinly sliced
Cooked meats of all kinds
Pork kidney, halved, cored and thinly sliced
Smoked bacon, thickly sliced
Firm bean curd, thickly sliced
Dry bean curd skin, soaked until soft
Lambs brains
Tripe
Intestines, or as my Sichuan friends directly translate it, “the sh*t pipe…”

Veggies:
Cabbage
Lotus, sliced and soaked in lightly salted water
Spinach
Bean sprouts, whole
Fresh coriander (cilantro)
Radishes, turnips
Potatoes, thickly sliced and soaked in lightly salted water

Fungus:
Shiitake
Oyster
Button
Enoki
Wood ear or cloud ear, pre-soaked in hot water for at least 30mins
Chinese dried mushrooms, pre-soaked in hot water for at least 30mins
Large flat mushrooms, cut into chunky slices

For the seasoning dips:
Sesame oil
Sea salt white or black pepper
Garlic, finely chopped, at least one head of garlic for every 4 people
Dou fu ru
Coriander( cilantro), chopped

Markets: Where to find what you need
There is nothing more frustrating that getting a new recipe(s) and then finding that your local Supermarket doesn’t have all that you need. Luckily, here in Slo-lumbus when have a menagerie of ethnic markets, if you can’t find everything you need at one then you may at a combination of 2 or 3. Also, you will find you save money shopping at ethnic groceries than your major supermarkets where prices are marked up dramatically on things you find at a specific ethnic market for a margin of the price. Also Ethnic groceries will have several options on every product giving you far more choices.

So, I made a list of market that is a great resource… for the Slo-umbus Foodie…

The North Market: meats, produce, specialty import foods, etc…

Mon: optional hours for merchants
Tues-Friday: 8am-7pm
Sat-Sun: 8am-5pm

Koyama Shoten: Japanese
5857 Sawmill Rd
Dublin, OH 43017
Get Directions
(614) 761-8118

Lotte: Korean
218 Graceland Blvd
Columbus, OH 43214
Get Directions
(614) 885-3232

Toul Bo: Korean
999 Bethel Rd
Columbus, OH 43214
Get Directions
(614) 459-8888

Mediterranean Foods Imports: Name says it all, also great to spices by the oz.
2647 N High St
Columbus, OH 43202
(614) 263-9400‎

New Asian Supermarket: Like a Warehouse
3635 W Dublin Granville Rd
Columbus, OH 43235
Get Directions
(614) 889-8899

Sunrise Asian Supermarket: Like a Warehouse, great for exotic meat.
1841 Henderson Rd
Columbus, OH 43220
Get Directions
(614) 326-1999

CAM: Columbus Asian market: Great for veggies and meats and assortment of everything else.

Olentangy Plaza
817 Bethel Road
Columbus, OH 43214
Mon-Sat: 10:00am-8:00pm
Sun: 10:00am-7:00pm

Tensuke Market: The best Japanese grocery in Slo-lumbus.
1167 Old Henderson Rd
Columbus, OH 43220-3607
(614) 451-6002

As Director of Marketing my job distills down pretty simply to: promote the North Market. When we’ve got major events like the Fiery Foods Festival going on, it just comes naturally, as I simply highlight the great things our merchants do daily that complement our theme. In promoting this great place and our events I get to interact with many of Columbus’ media “personalities”. Yesterday I got to “play” with one of Columbus’ most gregarious characters, WTTE/FOX 28’s Johnny DiLoretto. I’ve noticed that the mere mention of Johnny D evokes passionate responses from folks. From the exuberant, “He’s so funny, I just LOVE him!” to an eyeroll accompanied by a groan, “Ugh, he’s SUCH a goofball!” Having personally embraced my own goofball tendencies years ago, I have great appreciation for Johnny D. He’s consummately professional, helpful and sincere and while he certainly doesn’t take himself too seriously, he absolutely takes his responsibility to report on the events, organizations and venues that he covers in earnest. It’s evident that he loves his job, the experiences it affords him and the people he gets to meet.

I thought it would be fun to document a little of the goings-on yesterday from behind-the-scenes footage to the on-air action. I freely admit that part of my motivation was to keep myself focused. I am unquestionably a morning person and relish in my regular duty of opening the Market- usually a 7 a.m. task. To set up for the live television broadcast required me to be there at 6 a.m. and I’m amazed at what a difference that extra little hour of sleep makes. Nonetheless I was there at 5:50 a.m., bright-eyed (more or less) and ready for the shoot. While our cameraman Aaron fiddled with important gear in the station’s truck, Johnny unwound hundreds of yards of coaxial camera cable and distributed it up and down the aisles in front of the stalls of the various merchants we were scheduled to chat with about their particular spicy dishes.

Pam of Pam’s Market Popcorn had been in since the middle of the night preparing a big order to be shipped out. As she feverishly worked to adorn her stand with red garland, flame motifs and flashing lights we decided to do the opening hit there. Johnny donned one of our prop sombreros (which we’ll be giving out to kids this Saturday morning starting at 11 a.m.) and practiced a couple of introductory lines. Aaron prepped the camera while Johnny conversed with the producers back in the studio via the “magic of television” and his ear piece. It appeared that despite the enormous sombrero perched on his head, they couldn’t see him on the remote feed (uh-oh)…and he was supposed to broadcast in about 3 minutes. Aaron rushes outside and “jiggled that button” in the truck and all is well, they can see Johnny. I throw on a sombrero and we do the opening preview about what to expect at the North Market this weekend it’s only a 30 second or so hit and it’s over in a flash…

Now onto the real stars, our merchants. First up we hit up the expert on all things chile-related John Hard (more familiarly known as CaJohn). He’d brought a passle of peppers for consideration and sampling. From the milder jalapeno to the scorching habanero to the inferno that is the bhut jolokia. CaJohn is familiar with them all and what makes them distinctive. He gives Johnny a little tutorial about capsaicin (what makes the peppers hot) and Scoville units (how the heat of the peppers are measured) and busts the myth that it’s the seeds that make the peppers hot (the capsaicin resides in the white fleshy membranes). They top off the lesson with a nibble on one of the less tear-inducing peppers.

Between takes there’s downtime to set up the next shot. The equipment is hauled down to Firdous where Abdul has assembled the ingredients to make his notorious Tunisian Chicken. It’s one of Firdous signature dishes and the only one to warrant its own sign that reads: I.D. Required. Must be old enough to handle the heat. HOT! HOT! HOT! Tunisia is the northernmost country on the African continent and as it is 40% desert it’s somewhat ironic that one of its traditional dishes (served in its cities) is something so scorching. The ingredients sound innocuous enough: chicken breast, tomato, garlic and black olives…but it’s the “special sauce” that gets ya! Judging by the look on Johnny’s face I’d say he’s feeling the heat, but approves!

One of our recurring morning’s themes was spicy cuisine from around the world. The lovely Nida Perry came in and prepared Thai curry, a dish available at the North Market and her new Short North restaurant, Nida’s Thai on High. Nida was a trooper to make it in for the spot as 7 a.m. comes MUCH earlier when you’ve been up late tending to your new “baby” (especially when that baby is a fledgling restaurant). Red curry paste, coconut milk, fresh basil and shrimp were just a few of the ingredients that make this dish sing. Johnny liked it so much that Nida made up a “to-go” pack for him to take home for lunch (ah, the perks of stardom)!

At the North Market we’re fortunate to have some of the most creative minds in the city when it comes to dessert gathered under one roof. We assembled Dan Cooper of Pure Imagination Chocolatier, Pam Tylka of Pam’s Market Popcorn and Tom Bauer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams to offer their unique takes on the Fiery Foods gig. Pam had a formidable duo with popcorn flavors “Mad Max” and “Painful Purgatory Pepper” popcorns. Daniel responded with chocolate-dipped jalapeno peppers and wasabi truffles. Tom simultaneously cooled things down with an ice cream finale while bringing the heat in the form of flavors Thai Chili (peanutt-y with a kick) and Queen City Cayenne (chocolate with a POW!). All samples were eagerly devoured the minute we called “cut” on that take!

On our continuing piquant culinary tour around the world we made a stop in Italy. Chef Rocco Valentino of Pastaria gave Johnny a sneak preview of his entry into the Chef Chili Challenge. It is an Italian-inspired chili with nice chunks of beef that’s been long simmered with Italian seasonings, tomatoes and peppers. (Lucky me, as a tagalong I got to sample too!) It certainly fit the bill for the Fiery Foods Festival. Meanwhile Steven “the best pizza pie thrower in Columbus” was at work rapidly and efficiently putting together an arrabiatta pizza pie.

If you are ever nostalgic for the old-style pizzerias where they hand toss the crust, feel free to stop by Sarefino’s in the morning and watch our pizza phenom, Steven, at work. A round of pizza dough is passed through a presser, then Steven masterfully stretches the dough by hand, tossing and spinning it in the air to achieve the perfect pizza pie shape. He drops the flawless dough disk onto the counter, slathers it in sauce, covers it in grated cheese and puts on a gazillion pepperoni in perfect concentric circles all at a rapid-fire pace (See! He’s even a blur in the photo he’s moving so fast!). Within a minute it’s been hoisted onto the pizza peel -the wooden contraption used for putting them into and pulling them out of the piping hot pizza ovens- and placed into the oven. Minutes later Steven proudly delivers the finished product for us to polish off. The cameraman, Aaron, will testify that Steven is quite the craftsman.

We wind up the segment back where we started, with the infamous CaJohn who will prepare his award-winning Texas-style CaBoom Chili. It’s such a simple recipe that it’s a cinch to prepare at home (provided you’ve made a stop by CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire stand at the Market). Brown a pound (or more) of ground beef (or ground turkey if that’s your thing). Drain off any liquid. Add a cup of water and three tablespoons of CaBoom Chili Fixins (CaJohns special spice mix) per pound of meat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add one jar of your favorite CaJohns salsa per pound of meat (picante sauce is recommended in your preferred heat level), simmer for at least another 10 minutes and it’s ready to serve! Of course, if you are too lazy or pressed for time you can also buy it by the pint/quart/gallon from CaJohns CaBoom Chili Co. at the North Market.

Ever the adventurous one, Johnny D decided to end his segment with a little teeny taste of the world’s hottest known pepper, the Bhut Jolokia (aka the ghost pepper). To give you perspective on how hot this is, a habanero pepper registers at about 250,000 Scoville units while the jolokia clocks in at more than 1,000,000 Scoville units. Yeah, that’s hot! And not in the trite Paris Hilton sense, but mouth-burning hot. Our intrepid reporter put about 1/8 teaspoon of the jolokia puree in his mouth and CaJohn talked him through the sensation. “It’s not going to feel very hot at first, and you’ll get the nice flavor of the pepper.” Johnny nodded his head and looked totally unfazed at this point. “But slowly, the heat is going to spread around your whole mouth and it’s going to build. And just when you think it’s done, it’s going to get hotter.” Johnny looks a little flushed and is beginning to “glow” a little bit. He finishes the segment, signs off and looks relieved that the camera is out of his face as he begins to perspire in earnest. Fortunately, the fine folks at Flavor and Fire keep an extra pint of milk around just for such emergency occasions. That and a bowl of Jeni’s vanilla ice cream seem to do the trick. It’s time to pack up the truck and head back to the station. Thanks for the publicity for our Fiery Foods Festival Johnny D! We sure had fun and hope you did too. You know you’re welcome at the North Market any time!