By Ashleigh Fielding | posted on February 20, 2020
‘DEMONIC’ Dave is his name and chilli is his game.
Albany man Dave Shorter has been munching on chillis and all things hot and spicy since he was five years old and is aiming to lock down the title of Chilli King in just about every competition there is in existence.
He is part of the UK’s League of Fire, is an accredited top-tier Golden Ladle Chilli Head with the N.E.U.K Chilli Heads and is now eyeing the title of best in Australia when it comes to eating hot things.
Mr Shorter already has the title of best in WA but that’s not enough.
So, he’s heading to New Zealand in May to take on the eating challenge of eating challenges.
But before he goes, Mr Shorter has been hard at work accruing points in various chilli food challenges.
The rules are simple: eating certain foods is worth a certain amount of points, and the winner is the person with the most points.
Each challenge must be filmed live and you have to film the “afterburn” too, not just the eating part.
The hottest thing he’s had recently was the Tube of Terror.
“It’s a tube of peanuts,” Mr Shorter said.
“I had cramps for about six hours afterwards.
“And when I’ve spoken to lady competitors, they compared the cramps to giving birth.”
Mr Shorter has to eat chilli in some shape or form regularly to maintain his ability to eat it successfully.
The key to eating it successfully also comes down to prep work – he drinks plenty of milk and eats lots of carbs beforehand, and drinks lemon and lime juice afterwards.
He has chilli-flavoured candy every day at lunch time – his co-workers find it weird and hilarious.
But, chilli is Mr Shorter’s thing and he loves it.
So much so, he wants to start a chilli festival in Albany.
“We need to bring chilli to Albany,” he said.
“It could be our thing.
“We could invite growers from Perth and over east and they’d supply their products, and it would encourage local growers as well.”
Mr Shorter is currently working on a chilli-eating challenge with new Lockyer cafe D&C Grill Taste of Albany.
You can watch Demonic Dave take on food challenges with Carolina Reaper Peppers, Scorpion Chilli, Bhut Jolokia Chilli and 13M Capsaicin Crystals, or offer him some of your own chilli-hot products to review, on his Facebook page.
Just search Dave Shorter.
