In a feat of culinary masochism that ended in profound regret, a magazine editor recently attempted to break a UK record by consuming the world's hottest chicken tenders at Dave's Hot Chicken in London. The challenge, involving tenders coated in the infamous Carolina Reaper chilli, resulted in intense physical agony and a lasting lesson in the limits of human endurance.
The Fiery Challenge in Soho
Dave's Hot Chicken, a chain with over 250 branches in North America, opened its first European outpost in December on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Rupert Street in London's Soho. The venue, nestled between Chinatown and Theatreland, has gained notoriety, particularly on TikTok, for its extreme spice offerings. The draw for many is the Reaper Tender, made using the Carolina Reaper pepper, officially the hottest chilli money can buy.
On a grey Friday morning, the scene was set for the record attempt. The existing record stood at two and a half tenders; the goal was to consume three. Before beginning, manager Oliver Southworth presented a legally binding waiver warning of potential side effects including sweating, shortness of breath, vomiting, diarrhoea, and even chest pain or heart palpitations. Southworth recalled one patron who managed only a single bite before becoming severely ill.
A Journey Through Pain
Equipped with black rubber gloves to prevent chilli burns, the challenge commenced with a tray bearing three crimson-coloured tenders, each six inches long. The first bite triggered an immediate and violent physical reaction. Intense heat radiated throughout the body, the throat began to swell, lips felt raw, and the face turned a reddish-purple. Profuse sweating and streaming eyes followed.
The second tender went down quicker, perhaps due to numbed pain receptors, with a faint, green freshness detectable beneath the overwhelming fire. However, attention soon turned to a new burning sensation in the stomach, described as feeling like it had been filled with petrol and set alight. After forcing down the remnants of the third tender to scattered, half-hearted applause, the aftermath was a ten-minute period of recovery with a forehead pressed to a cold table, followed by wobbly legs staggering into Soho's daylight.
The Science and Culture of Extreme Heat
The Carolina Reaper, cultivated in 2012 by Ed Currie of the PuckerButt Pepper Company, is a cross between a Pakistani Naga Viper and a red habanero. It measures a staggering 1.6 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU). For context, police pepper spray rates around 5.3 million SHU. The burning sensation is caused by capsaicin, a compound that triggers pain receptors in mammals but not in birds—an evolutionary defence mechanism that backfired spectacularly when humans began cultivating chillies around 7,000BC.
Manager Oliver Southworth notes the challenge attracts a largely male, 'lads-lads-lads' crowd, often egging each other on after school or college. The London branch sells an impressive 10 to 15 Reaper Tenders per hour, far exceeding the two or three sold in average US locations. However, Louise Duck of Upton Cheyney Chilli Farm near Bristol suggests the macho culture around extreme chillies may be fading, with people increasingly seeking flavour over pure, inedible heat.
The final, brutal chapter of the challenge unfolded over the next 12 hours, as the chilli's path through the digestive system was felt with a constant, dull burn, culminating in a painfully memorable visit to the bathroom. The vow uttered in the aftermath was simple and definitive: "Never again." The record attempt served as a stark, visceral reminder that some culinary frontiers are best left unexplored.
