NEVER mind the weather forecast. Temperatures are guaranteed to rise next weekend when the third Great Dorset Chilli Festival gets underway.

Held at the Earl of Shaftesbury’s St Giles Park in Cranborne Chase, the place will be steaming with chilli farmers, chilli sauce makers, chilli plant growers and local chefs demonstrating their favourite chilli recipes.

There will also be competitions, music, beer and cider, plus talks and activities for children.

New this year is the Dorset Chilli Cook-Off Championships. Run by the UK Chilli Cook-off Association, these firey contests are in aid of the CLIC Sargent children’s cancer charity.

Teams of amateur chilli chefs compete to cook the best chilli over a four-hour period, with the winner taking a £250 cash prize.

Another popular attraction is the chilli plant competition. More than 70 people applied in February for a pack of free chilli seeds in order to germinate their plants in time for the competition.

But for many, the highlight will be the chilli-eating competition taking place each afternoon, where contestants subject themselves to rounds of increasingly hot chillies. The last man, or woman, still standing, wins.

Other hot highlights include a chilli plant exhibition with 30 different varieties and demonstrations by local chefs including newcomers Luke Stuart of White Pepper Cookery School and Julia Cotton of Julia’s Kitchen Cookery School along with regulars Mat Follas of The Wild Garlic Restaurant in Iwerne Minster and Mark Hartstone of La Fosse Restaurant in Cranborne.

There will also be the chilli sauce competition for professional producers, judged by the public, falconry flying displays, fire juggling, face painting, tree climbing and live musical performances.

For more details visit great dorsetchillifestival.co.uk