Margaret River chillis turn up the heat in Fremantle

Held at the Esplanade Park in Fremantle, the Araluen Fremantle Chilli Festival will celebrate all things hot and spicy this weekend, with more than 100 stalls offering anything from sauces and dressings, to chilli inspired food and alcohol.

For the Longmores, this will be their 10th year participating in the festival where they have always found crowds responding immensely to their South West produce.

Under the name Pippali, the Longmores have created the local business which produces a range of sweet chilli sauces, chutneys, jams and hot sauces, named in a fantastically Aussie manner, supplying only to the small regional market.

According to Ange Longmore, the market for chilli products depends on the season, with a range of chilli varieties difficult to grow in the climate of the South West affecting the production of some of their most acclaimed sauces.

At this moment, the season is inhibiting their growth of the Trinidad Scorpions, a vital ingredient in the production of the pair’s hottest sauce Ragin’ Ranga which has previously won bronze in the hottest sauce competition at the festival.

“We have a property in Gnarabup and grow the specialised chillis which you don’t come across very often at the market,” Ange Longmore said.

“Carolina Reapers are extremely hot and need to be handled with care, just getting the oils from these chillis on your hands can burn.”

According to Ms Longmore, her partner Andy has always been a lover of chilli and a passionate gardener, so turning their passion into a business came naturally.

The first bottles of their products were sold to their friends in the nineties, who are to this day still their best customers according to Ms Longmore.

She said defining how much was ‘too hot’ was an individual choice, but over the years customers always came back wanting something even hotter.

“Sweat pours off their faces and they go red; they just love it and can’t get enough,” she said.