Setting taste buds on fire

Adam Stacey admits he designs for Lucifer himself. He sells Devil’s Pleasure and spends his working days surrounded by scorpions and ghosts ‒ two types of chillis. He is one of the UK’s growing breed of chilli farmers.

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Stacey is a third-generation vegetable and salad crop grower at his family’s small holding in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire. The idea for his Glos Chilli Farm (www.gloschillies.co.uk) occurred to him in a pub.

“A mouthful of chilli jam changed everything.  With the help of a degree in environmental studies and the advice of my uncle Geoff, I grew a crop of 400 plants. Now we make everything from pickled scorpion and ghost chillies to jams, jellies, meat rubs and sauces,” he says.

“As a fan of spicy food, I’m no stranger to eating chillies but I had a lot to learn about growing them. We use harvested rainwater, feed the soil with clover, blood fish and bone and don’t use any pesticides or herbicides. Ladybirds help us control pests. We also provide homes for solitary bees to help with pollination.” 

Chillies have many health benefits.  The Victorians gargled with chilli and used it to relieve arthritis.