Top five English chilli pepper farms

If you can stand the heat, check out our top five English chilli pepper producers - just remember not to rub your eyes afterwards!

Edible Ornamentals

Right on the Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire border, Edible Ornamentals grows over 50 different varieties of chilli peppers, including some of the hottest in the world (Ghost Chilli, Dorset Naga, Trinidad Scorpion).

Their website is chock-a-block with chilli facts and details of which farmers’ markets they’re next selling at, and you can even book a ‘chilli tour and tasting experience’ at the farm. If you are visiting, be sure to give their chilli con carne a go… 

You can buy a range of products from Edible Ornamentals, both in store and through their online shop, including fresh chillies, dried chillies, chilli seeds, chilli plants, chipotle, paprika, and chilli powder.

Peppers By Post

Dynamic duo Joy and Michael Michaud have been growing chilli peppers together for years (they were one of the first chilli companies in the UK), and run their business from a West Dorset nursery overlooking the English Channel. 

You can’t actually visit the site – everything is by mail order – and the chilli varieties they are selling this year (2012) are solely habanero types. All have a fruity flavour, but range in heat level from Dorset Naga, one of the world's hottest chillies, to Apricot, an exceptional habanero with almost no heat but a delicious tropical aroma and flavour.

They do have an open day every year, held on the Sunday of the August Bank Holiday weekend (26th). At this year’s event, there will also be vegetables on show, courtesy of Sea Spring Seeds, including sweet peppers, a tomato trial, and some outdoor crops.

The Upton Cheyney Chilli Company

Visitors are very welcome here – the farm is open throughout the growing season (starting in March and ending in November), and staff are on hand to show you through their tunnels and offer ample samples.

All products made by The Upton Cheyney Chilli Company are made with home-grown chillies. They specialise in the cultivation of a variety of chilli plants including Jalapeno, Hungarian Hot Wax, Serrano, Habanero and the world famous Dorset Naga – the latter was developed here in the UK.

Their chilli sauces and chilli jams are lovingly made in small batches in the kitchen of their farm shop. Be aware that they don’t sell fresh chillies though. 

Check out the nearby Chilli Festival, held on the second Saturday in September at Manor Farm in Upton Cheyney (midway between Bristol and Bath). A celebration of all things chilli, there’s always a chilli-eating competition to get your eyes watering!

South Devon Chill Farm

Another chilli farm which enjoys entertaining visitors. Visit any day between 10am and 4pm (bar a few exceptions) to wander through the show tunnel (with a display of around 100 varieties of chilli plants), and peruse the farm shop selling everything from fresh chillies to chilli chocolate and chilli seedlings.

The Kingsbridge farm, which was established in 2003, now sells over 10,000 chilli plants each year, and their rise to fame has been featured on the BBC's Countryfile and Gardeners' World. Even Jamie Oliver recommends South Devon chillies, according to the website: “As you know, I am a chilli freak and these guys grow the best in the country.”

Check out their online shop for fresh chillies, chilli growing equipment, chilli chocolate, ‘extreme heat products’, gift ideas, and much more.

The Chilli Garden

A small family business set in a wooded vale within the Hampshire countryside, The Chilli Garden occupies seven acres and is home to two unheated glasshouses where the chillies are grown from seed in organic compost. No herbicides, pesticides, or any other nasties are used in the making of their chillies. They’re even a member of The Wholesome Food Association, which adheres to the principals of organic farming.

The chillies are turned into vegetarian-friendly chilli jam, jelly, sauce, powder, pickles and chocolate on site, all of which can be brought on their online shop. There are also great recipe ideas on their website. 

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