The thing about heat is that it doesn’t ask permission — it just shows up, takes over, and demands you feel something. In Fort Worth, heat has a new headquarters: ZestFest 2025, rolling into the Will Rogers Memorial Center May 23–25 like a spicy, sun-drenched rock tour with a killer lineup and no plans to cool down.
This isn’t just a food festival. It’s a full-body experience. A dare. An ode to the masochists among us who smile through the tears as they chase flavor like it owes them money.
The minute you step onto the festival grounds, the air changes. It’s electric with a heady mix of roasted peppers, smoked rubs, tangy citrus, and adrenaline. Laughter, music, the rhythmic clink of beer bottles. A blur of booths — some boasting sauces in apocalyptic red, others handing out napalm-in-disguise under the name of “mango habanero.” Each one offers you a chance to prove something or lose a bet in the tastiest way possible.
At the center of the storm? The Fiery Food Challenge, the Grammys of burn, where culinary pros go tongue to tongue in a blind-tasting showdown judged by fireproof experts. The prize? A Golden Chile trophy and bragging rights hotter than a Texas summer. You don’t win this thing on charm. You win it by bottling boldness — lightning in a jar — and hoping it doesn’t melt the judges' faces off.
And if the main event is the food, then the encore is pure theater.
Saturday, 1:00 p.m., center stage will be The PuckerButt Jalapeño Eating Contest. It's part gladiator match, part fever dream. Contestants, eyes watering and faces flushed, down jalapeños like they're life rafts in a sea of lava. The crowd goes nuts. Someone probably cries. A hero is crowned.
Then there’s the Fiery Chicken Tender Eating Contest, brand new this year and hosted by Brent Dean. It’s set to go off Sunday with the kind of pageantry usually reserved for fireworks and minor-league baseball walk-up songs. This isn’t your average wing night — it’s a tongue-searing, crowd-cheering, lip-scorching battle that will leave only sauce-stained legends in its wake.
And when the sun dips behind the Stockyards skyline, Spicy Food Productions turns the dial even higher with the Fiery Food Awards Ceremony Dinner on Friday night. It’s invite-only, but if you’re lucky enough to get in, you’ll see a community that’s more than vendors and taste-testers — it’s a tribe.
But ZestFest isn’t just for the hardened heat freaks. It’s family-friendly, with aisles of artisan vendors offering everything from mild marinades to gourmet salsas. Cold beer flows. Momo’s Michelada cocktail samples take the edge off. ZestFest is a love story. A spicy, sweaty, loud one.
So come hungry. Come curious. Come ready to sweat.
Because in Fort Worth this May, the heat isn’t just outside. It’s on your plate, in your veins, and in your soul.
ZestFest 2025
Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, TX
May 23–25
Tickets + Info: www.ZestFest.net
