red tomatoes

Chilli spices up Cardiff street food

by Bruce McMichael
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Fitzham0n Embankment in on the leftbank of the River Taff, in the lieu of the Millennium Stadium

Every Sunday crowds gather on the banks of Cardiff’s River Taff to chat with local producers selling Welsh cheeses, locally grown chillis, game sausages and freshly made sourdough loaves. Tea, coffee and hot burgers offer a great brunch.

Chris Fowler with the world's hottest chilli, the Carolina Reaper (AKA HP22B) at 2.2million Scovilles!
Chris Fowler with the world’s hottest chilli, the Carolina Reaper (AKA HP22B) at 2.2million Scovilles!

From 10am-2pm, the market on Fitzhamon Embankment is pulsing with locals stocking up on ‘essentials’.

The bustle around Chris Fowler’s chilli stand reveals wave after wave of knowledgeable fans of his crop. Chris grows around 300 varieties of chilli from the including Chocolate cherries, Ethiopian browns and the Guyana P1999506 and the vividly, orange-coloured Naranja.

Chris grows his chili in polytunnels at Cefn Mably Farm just north of Cardiff. Chris grows the world’s hottest chilli, the Carolina Reaper with a mouth blistering 2.2m Scovilles!

The super hot pepper is noted for having a well defined ‘scorpion’s tail’,  from being a cross between a Pakistani Naga and a Red Habanero.

Definitely worth a visit should you find yourself in the city on a Sunday!

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Cheese from Cardigan, including the Teifi’s subtle full fat hard variety flavoured with nettle
Bread and Bara Brith food from Wales
Bread and Bara Brith from Cardiff’s Sunday farmer’s market
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Bruce McMichael

Food writing, discovering food stories, meeting producers, chefs and food enthusiasts are all part of desire to inspire, inform my readers and fellow food lovers. I am a freelance writer, journalist and published author focusing on the international world of food and drink, culture and travel. In 2019 I graduated from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy with a Masters in Food Culture, Communication and Marketing. I am now a visiting Professor at the university teaching Food & Drink Writing. Based in London I travel widely, particularly across western Europe. I have chaired many conferences and meetings, spoken at conferences and events and often appear on radio and TV talking most about food, the business of food and being an entrepreneur. In 2017 I won an episode of the ITV (the UK-based national television channel) cooking competition show, 'Gordon Ramsay's Culinary Genius'. I took my children on holiday to Sicily with the prize money. As an experienced farmers' market manager and operator of a small marmalade/ preserves company, I am very familiar with the issues surrounding local food, farming, enterprise and the environment.