Ricardo Dias Felner has been hearing about Xico’s legendary peppers for many years. But only now has the opportunity to visit it arisen. At 71 years old, Xico is a true reference in the Portuguese community of spicy lovers — a universe that brings together chilli producers, sauce manufacturers and dedicated consumers. The group, or “the spicy freaks”, as the critic humorously describes them, grows from year to year, judging by the activity in the online forums and the incessant search for rare seeds.
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At the end of the visit, Xico surprises Felner by taking a small bottle of clear liquid from his pocket. “It’s brandy with Carolina. It must be about three years old”, he explains. “One time we made seafood rice and at the end I sprayed it with this spray. We all ran to the bathroom.” To try this specialty, other well-known figures come together. Among them is the guitarist and Tiktoker Dodas Spencer, who is part of the band Calema, and musicians such as the Dias brothers, who accompany Richie Campbell.
Discover the rest of this story in the new episode of “The Man Who Ate Everything”.
Tiago Pereira Santos and Matilde Fieschi
With two or three tricks, everyone can make the best scrambled eggs in the world, the best French fries or the best steak. Sometimes, the difference between sublime food and bad food is just the amount of butter, the variety of potato or when we add salt to the steak.
Ricardo Dias Felner, journalist and gastronomic critic, is The Man Who Ate Everything and tells you everything about cooking and restaurants in Expresso’s tastiest podcast.
He started as a journalist at Público, where for 11 years he wrote about crime, justice, immigration and politics. He was the director of Time Out magazine and, nowadays, regularly collaborates with several publications, including Expresso, where he has written reports on some of the country’s most emblematic foods, from cod to barbecue chicken.
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