The Datil Pepper is a niche crop grown only in the unique climate of Northeastern Florida.  They are small but spicy peppers ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 scoville heat units in their green stage and heating up to 120,000 to 150,000 scoville heat units as they ripen to orange.  Although many enthusiasts find many of their datil infused dishes in historic downtown St. Augustine, the three primary commercial growers farm in Putnam County.  This is the reason that Datil Fest 2024 exploded along the beautiful shoreline of the St. John’s River in downtown Palatka. UF/IFAS Putnam County Extension cohosted this inaugural event with Main Street Palatka and Mayhem Datil Pepper Farms on October 26, 2024.  Florida Power & Light earned their prestigious position as the Title Sponsor, and other local sponsors including Douglas Law Firm, Putnam County Tourist Development Council, Florida Blue and Endorphin Farms certainly contributed to the success.

Datil Fest was a day filled with honor, education, opportunity, and great tunes!  The morning was officially kicked off by Lori Gill singing the Star Spangled Banner and pledging our allegiance to the United States of America.  The Florida Youth Challenge Academy raised their colors in this formal ceremony and truly started the day with honor and respect for our freedom.  A homeowner’s workshop cohosted by Dr. Wendy

Mussoline (UF/IFAS) alongside the three commercial growers in Putnam County (Mayhem Farms, Revels Pepper Farms, and Doug Doran) was an added educational benefit for attendees.  The Amateur Datil Contest with nearly 30 participants and 6 judges was a hit, while the kids zone dunking booth, face and pumpkin painting and obstacle course entertained the 12 and unders.  Datil-pepper vendors with sauces, jellies, honey, beef jerky and did I say SAUCES were overwhelmed by early attenders strolling in at 9AM.  Live music by Jelly Rollers, Wes Cobb, Bryce Alastair Band, and Grandpa’s Cough Medicine and $5 beer kept the crowd entertained until 8PM.

Datil Fest was FREE, but certain culinary options did require pre-purchased tickets for entry.  The Velchoff’s VIP culinary rooftop experience at the River Center was truly an elevated culinary experience with creative datil tapas and cocktails.  The culinary stroll, also requiring pre-purchased tickets, provided participants with 14 unique datil infused creations prepared by local chefs who were competing for the top dog in the datil world.  Hook, Line & Sinker (a new restaurant located at the Crystal Cove Marina in Palatka) swept the overall first place prize with a tropical quinoa shrimp over a sweet potato mash paired with the preferred datil-infused bourbon cocktail flavored with cinnamon sticks and anise.  The overall second place went to The Press for their datil sloppy joes served over freshly baked rolls.  Ther overall third place was a sweet and smooth pumpkin souffle topped with datil-dusted pecans created by Meehan’s Irish Pub.  Not only were these unique creations a pure pleasure to taste, but they were quite filling.  The 125 participants that passed through the culinary experience had full bellies and were all smiles from the datil-infused brews by Azalea City and Hog Breweries, the blueberry datil-margarita by Meehan’s, and the datil bourbontini by Hook, Line & Sinker which has become a permanent addition to their cocktail list for datil enthusiasts.

To find out more about Datil Fest and to await announcements for next years event, please check  https://www.datilfest.com/.  You will hear much more about the events of the day and the winners of both the professional and amateur culinary contests.  If you missed it, don’t fret…we plan to make this event even bigger and better in November 2025!

0