Pittsburgh's first hot sauce festival to blaze a new culinary trail

Pittsburgh’s food festival scene has grown in recent years, highlighting many culinary delights: macaroni and cheese, bacon, tacos and more. But for those who prefer things on the spicier side, Rivers of Fire will be the hottest ticket of the year.

Rivers of Fire is Pittsburgh’s first hot sauce festival, bringing together purveyors of spicy condiments and foods both local and national. The event will include more than a dozen artisan hot sauce companies offering samples, food trucks with extra-spicy specialties, some heat-tinged activities, games and other entertainment.

Lisa Ray, founder of Rivers of Fire and co-owner of Hammajack Heat Co., came up with the idea to start the festival after she and her husband — the company’s other co-owner — attended similar events in other cities with their own hot sauces.

“We didn’t know what to expect. The one huge impression we both had was just how supportive and helpful and pleasant all of the other makers were,” she said.

After having conversations with some locals about how great a hot sauce festival here in Pittsburgh would be, Ray decided to start one herself.

“I’ve never done anything like this in my life. And here we are.”

On site at Saturday’s event at Velum Fermentation on the South Side will be 18 hot sauce vendors, including Maestros’ Sauce Co., Mezclado and Revolutionary Hot Sauce. But for these small batch producers, it’s not just about packing in as many peppers as possible.

“They’re all about the flavor. You want something with a little kick. … But it’s flavor first,” Ray said.

They’ll also have an assortment of food trucks dishing up wings, tacos, dumplings and more. “I wanted to get things that would go nicely with hot sauce,” Ray said.

But for those who need a post-pepper cooldown, ice cream and juices will also be available.

Attendees can also participate in a hot pepper eating contest and watch a “Hot Ones”-style talk show hosted by the Positively Pittsburgh Podcast, where local personalities will be interviewed while eating increasingly spicier wings.

Ray cautioned that the League of Fire pepper-eating contest isn’t for the faint of heart — or tongue.

“That’s for crazy people who eat, like, Reaper-level peppers,” she said, referring to the Carolina Reaper, which spent 10 years in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s hottest pepper. “When I talk to people locally and they say, ‘Oh, I should join that,’ I tell them, ‘Oh no, you don’t understand, these people train year-round.’”

The League of Fire is an international organization for “chili-heads,” or those who seek thrills through eating the spiciest things imaginable. They run contests all over the world.

Ray is especially excited for the Fire & Ice Challenge.

“You can eat one hot pepper — we’ll have a variety, it can even be like a jalapeno or cherry bomb, or it can be one of the crazy hot peppers — and then you get in an ice bath,” Ray said. “This challenge is brought to the festival in conjunction with Pittsburgh TubClub.”

For each participant in the challenge, the festival will donate $20 to Animal Friends for Veterans.

Ray’s own company, Hammajack Heat Co., will also be set up for sampling at Rivers of Fire. They offer a range of sauces made from fermented peppers — a job that Ray relishes.

“That’s the season I’m in right now, getting the peppers into fermentation. I just did 4,000 pounds this last week,” she said.

They pride themselves on making their condiments with whole foods and organic produce.

Ray is feeling great about how well the festival is coming together and is looking forward to getting to swap sauces and stories with her fellow spice-makers on Saturday. “A hot sauce person never has enough sauces. … We use other people’s sauces all the time.”

The Rivers of Fire hot sauce festival will be held from 12:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Velum Fermentation on the South Side. Get tickets at pittsburghsriversoffire.com.