Every spring, Albuquerque willingly sets its taste buds on fire.
Inside the halls of Sandia Resort & Casino, rows of tables overflow with hot sauces in every shade of red and orange, jars of chile jams, spice blends, barbecue rubs and fiery sweets. Near the entrance, a towering skeleton greets attendees. Down another aisle, someone dares a friend to try something labeled “extreme,” while vendors explain the difference between warmth and true heat.
The National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show is not just a festival. It is an institution.
For director Mark Masker, the path to running what many consider the premier spicy food event in the country started in an unlikely place. “We got to go all the way back to about 2010 for that,” says Masker.
At the time, Masker was a freelance writer and photographer working in power sports. Hoping to break into barbecue writing, he built a smoker out of a trash can, documented the process and pitched the story to the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Super Site. Fiery Foods founder Dave DeWitt ran the piece, beginning a mentorship that led Masker to become editor-in-chief of the Burn Blog, co-write a book with DeWitt and eventually work the show each year photographing booths and reviewing products.
“It was my first real encounter with the hot sauce industry,” says Masker. “I just fell in love with it instantly.”
In 2022, DeWitt told Masker he was ready to retire after decades of producing shows. Masker purchased the show and officially took the reins in 2023, seeing himself as both steward and innovator.
Dave “established it as the premier authority on all things spicy,” says Masker. Albuquerque, often called the chile capital of the United States, made the perfect home.
Over the years, the show has served as a launching pad for new products and trends. Ed Currie’s Carolina Reaper, which later earned a Guinness World Record as the world’s hottest pepper, debuted here. Masker says the show continues to function as a testing ground.
“We are a launching point for new products,” says Masker. Exhibitors unveil sauces, syrups and spice blends before devoted “chileheads” who are not shy about offering feedback. “They’ll let you know whether something’s good or not, and they do it with their wallet,” says Masker.
The result is a floor where attendees can build an entire meal from start to finish. “You can go down any row at the show and find all the spicy products you would need to do an entire meal, from the cocktails to the appetizers to the main entrée to the dessert, and even the coffee afterward,” says Masker.
Balancing extreme heat with broader appeal is part of the design. Industry buyers receive dedicated hours to make wholesale deals, while general admission welcomes families and curious food lovers. Vendors range from mild to scorchingly hot, sometimes topping two million Scoville heat units.
For exhibitors like Paul Greenberg of Old Saratoga Spice Rubs LLC, that range creates opportunity.
Greenberg is returning for his third year, bringing handcrafted spice blends that recently earned multiple Scovie Awards, the show’s annual competition recognizing excellence in fiery foods.
“It gives us credibility,” says Greenberg. “When we speak to potential customers at events, or if I walk into a store where I’m trying to get a store to carry our products, I can say, hey, we have these different awards for these different flavors.”
One of Greenberg’s proudest creations, a dry rub inspired by New Mexico green chile sauce, took years to perfect.
“It took me five years and five minutes,” says Greenberg. After countless failed attempts, the breakthrough came when he realized he needed the flavor of roasted green chile, not just green chile itself. “As soon as I figured it out, I changed one ingredient. Boom, done.”
At the show, the sales pitch is simple. “You gotta taste it,” says Greenberg. “There’s only one way to know.”
Everything in his booth is blended, bottled and labeled by hand. “It’s the ultimate in quality control,” says Greenberg.
Stories like Greenberg’s keep the Fiery Foods Show relevant decades after its founding. Beyond spectacle and heat challenges, the event remains a place where small producers meet buyers, where trends are born and craft matters.
Masker is expanding those opportunities through partnerships with the New Mexico Restaurant Association and refining the flow of the show floor to better serve both industry professionals and the public.
Through it all, the heart of the show remains unchanged. It is a celebration of flavor, risk and community, rooted in a state where chile is more than an ingredient. It is identity.
For one weekend each year, Albuquerque does not just embrace the heat. It showcases it to the world.
The National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show runs Feb. 27 through March 1, at Sandia Resort & Casino (30 Rainbow Rd). Tickets for both industry professionals and general admission attendees are available through the official website at fieryfoodsshow.com.