Joe McNamee: Learning to beat the heat at the Irish Chilli Festival

I have always adored chillis, though age has tempered my capacity for chilli-eating as an endurance sport.

The Irish Chilli Festival takes place in Cork's Marina Market on June 27th and 28th

Sat, 30 May, 2026 - 01:00

A former chef, Joe McNamee is Senior Food Writer at the Irish Examiner. Holding a BA in Culinary Arts, he writes about food and reviews restaurants for Weekend.

The Irish Chilli Festival — June 27-28, at Cork’s Marina Market — features Europe’s largest ever gathering of hot sauce vendors, including several fine Irish producers previously featured here, along with a whole host of other family-friendly chilli-themed shenanigans.

The hottest ticket of all will be the the amateur chilli-eating contest hosted by Bristol’s Clifton Chilli Club — who boast 300m+ YouTube views and were featured on Netflix’s We are the Champions.