Like a waiter with a gigantic pepper mill full of photos that stretches to us all the way from Devon Cliff Hyslop, aka DevonChilliMan, has seasoned our office with snaps of his beautifully ordered greenhouses. Its either the pepper mill or else he’s used the internet. Cliff’s three immaculately turned-out greenhouses are separately sponsored by Dutchpro, CANNA and BioTabs. As is patently obvious Cliff’s chilli plants are thriving down there under the Devon sun.
This year’s summer weather has been ‘quirky’ to put it politely which has meant some delays followed by sudden growth impetus. In these conditions more than ever it’s about ‘the little things’ and Cliff attributes much of his success to attention to detail. His Grower’s Diary here contains a great deal on the intricacies of chilli cultivation in the UK and some really good insights on growth phases, nutrient uptake and staying on top of pH shifts.
The bulk of Cliff’s crop is currently comprised of Carolina Reapers the very same chillies certified by Guinness as the world’s hottest. Not only do Cliff’s chillies enjoy the limelight as the show pieces of his greenhouses, they enjoy a double life, just like The Caped Crusader or a Twix. Once harvested the chillies form a key part of Devon Chilli Man’s special sauces and seasonings. These include the doubtlessly light-hearted ‘Death at The Crimson Altar’, the monarch bamboozling ‘King Reaper Pickle’, the Korma Werewolf slaying silver bullet aka ‘Keyring Capsule’, and the theologically divisive ‘The Preacher’ and ‘Gospel Preacher’. Shop for Devon Chilli Man’s sauces, seasonings and more here.
