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Village Garden grows over 100 varieties of chiles.
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Barbara Hunsaker of Village Garden
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Curious about different chiles? Check out this numbered key to distinguish the fruits that range from mild to fiery:
1. Jimmy Nardello
2. Jalapeño *
3. Aji Limon *
4. Butch T Scorpion ***+
5. Purple UFO *
6. Corni di Toro +
7. Rehza Macedonian +
8. Bishop’s Crown *
9. Yellow Moruga Scorpion ***
10. Inca Drop *
11. Fish Pepper *
12. Aji Dulce +
13. Bhut Naga ***+
14. Madame Jeanette **+
15. Aji Dulce +
16. Cheiro Roxa **
17. Charapita Cross **+
18. Jamaican Yellow Hot **
19. Jalapeño *
20. Chocolate Ghost ***+
21. Red Bell
22. Jay’s Peach Scorpion ***+
23. Cabe Kriting *
24. Chocolate Habanero **
25. Fatali **
26. Red Ghost ***+
27. Tobasco *
28. Anaheim
29. Aji Dulce +
30. Seven Pot Yellow Brain Strain ***+
31. Fish Pepper **
32. Trinidad Cross ***+
33. Orange moruga ***+
34. Yellow Ghost ***+
35. Trinidad Primo Seven Pot ***+
36. White Ghost ***+
37. Purple UFO *+
38. Orange Trinidad Scorpion ***+
39. Chocolate Trinidad Scorpion ***+
40. Fidalgo Roxa **
41. Madame Jeanette **
42.Yellow Ghost ***+
43. Official M.O.A. Scotch Bonnet **
44. Caribbean Red Habanero ***
45. Carolina Reaper ***++
Diners tend to lump chile peppers into a single category: explosive. They think of Scoville heat units, episodes of celebrity chicken wing challenge “Hot Ones,” competitions and dares to see how many nuclear-level wings can be consumed without perspiring (or expiring). And while there are no free T-shirts for eating a ghost pepper chicken kebab from Sunny Baweja’s Lehja during the upcoming Chile Chill Out, there are Virginia wines and the chance to enjoy a wide array of flavors.
The spicy dining series is back for its third edition, exploring a rainbow of fruits from the genus capsicum. A collaborative spicy undertaking featuring multiple area restaurants, the event is led by chile connoisseurs David and Barbara Hunsaker of Village Garden — whose Hanover-grown peppers are thoughtfully incorporated into each menu — with each meal accompanied by wine pairings from Barboursville Vineyards.
“[There is] probably no food substance that interacts with the human biome as intensely as chiles. I mean, its taste, its sensation, its heat, its endorphins — the whole range of signs that you don’t normally associate instantly with food,” says David, who, along with his wife, grows everything from mild Inca Red Drop peppers to captivating Purple UFOs, rare Orange Trinidad Scorpions and fruity Madame Jeanettes. “In an instant, you’re on a roller coaster ride of all of those things.”
The series kicked off earlier this week with a dinner at West African-inspired Elegant Cuizines, where chef-owner Theresa Headen presented oysters with Ghanaian palave sauce, a hot chile pepper soup with fried fufu bites and spicy suya lamb chops.
Each course is meant to be a building block, bringing guests on a journey as they experience locally grown heritage hots in a variety of dishes. As Jason Tesauro, a sommelier with Barboursville Vineyards, describes it, “There are ways of using the pepper to enhance or moderate its heat, and when you do, building spice, you can actually tolerate a lot more. You don’t just jump in to Jager shots; let’s start the night with an aperitif and get there, let’s build.”
Chile Chill Out continues through early November with events including brunch at three-time participant Lehja (Oct. 22), an interactive demo and dining combo at cooking school Kitchen Classroom (Oct. 26), an evening of Cambodian fare from Royal Pig at Hatch Local (Nov. 1), a spicy Southern soiree at The Roosevelt (Nov. 6), and a five-course feast at Bar West (Nov. 8).
The pinnacle of the series is a spicy soiree, the Red Hot Chile Jubilee, at Village Garden on Nov. 4 to benefit nonprofits The Holli Fund and SCAN. The gathering on the farm will feature items from participating chefs, live music, fire spinning and a special guest appearance from Thai-inspired, spice-forward pop-up Nam Prik Pao.
Chile Chill Out is a spinoff of the season-long showcase of Village Garden’s tomatoes, Summer Supper Somm. Both series have been successful in reigniting diners’ connection to their food while offering Virginia wine a platform. And although tomatoes are undoubtedly among the summer’s most prized produce, chile peppers are often misunderstood.
“It’s fun to see different expressions of tomatoes, but people’s minds are changed about what chile peppers can do,” Tesauro says. “I try to encourage people to have a visceral experience, come and surrender. Everyone knows what to do with a tomato, but hot peppers ….”
With menus that balance on the “precipice of pleasure and pain,” when moderated by chefs with intention, the result can be eye-opening and palate-tingling.
“The most common response [from diners] is that they didn’t know how flavorful hot could be … but to have hot peppers on purpose in the hands of a culinarian” makes the difference, Tesauro says.
Tesauro says being involved with the Chile Chill Out has broadened his pepper perception, especially when it comes to wine pairings. While spice traditionally is thought of as being offset by dry or sweet varieties, he says, part of the fun has been realizing that complexity can be met with complexity. “Having a Barolo or Bordeaux blend with a vindaloo or with an incredible curry was a breakthrough.”
“We’re trying to engage all five senses,” David says. “We want them to taste the delicious food and drink delicious wine, see things they’ve never seen, hear things that make them have wonder about nature and plants and botany.”
