Yes, it’s official!  Tasmania’s very first festival celebrating chilli and cheese is happening in the historic village of Ross, halfway between Launceston and Hobart, on Sunday 23rd March 2025.

After the organiser’s good friend, Rob Dunn, founder of Australian Extreme Chilli Condiments, relocated to Tasmania,  and no longer able to attend her Queensland festivals, she decided it was a great time to launch a chilli festival in Tasmania.

“Let’s bring the Mountain to Mohammed”, said Scarlett!

Thus, the Tasmanian Chilli & Cheese Festival was born!

“Given the State’s renown for gastronomic delights, it was decided that Cheese be the companion for chilli at this inaugural festival, ” she said.

The Ross Hotel is to be the venue, and will no doubt have completed its fabulous renovations and new buildings in the outdoor area.

“We are super excited to be supporting our local resident, Rob Dunn, and Scarlett who we met on her visit here in March 2024,” said Nicole, proprietor of Ross Hotel.

“It will be a boutique affair, as it’s impossible to attract dozens of chilli providoes to the Apple Isle,” said Ms Habanero.

“Ross is so lucky to have Australian Extreme Chili Condiments in its village now, as Rob has long been one of the best exhibitors at many chilli festivals on the mainland,” she said.

“In the UK, fellow festival-organiser extraordinaire, Simon Stewart hosts a series of Cheese and Chilli Festivals and in his honour I decided to follow suit down here on literally the opposite end of the globe!”, she said.

Cheese and chilli providores from Tasmania and possibly across the ditch in Melbourne may grace the delightful grounds of the Ross Hotel for the inaugural Tasmanian Chilli & Cheese  Festival.