Oberschwaben built its food register around EU-protected Maultaschen and the Spätzle plate that lands next to almost anything Swabian, with Currywurst as the German pop-food touchstone any small chili producer eventually has to answer to. Ravensfeuer, a small-batch Chili-Manufaktur in Ravensburg run by Michael Weißhaupt, has taken a Silver Medal at the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 (heatawards.eu), Europe's flagship hot sauce competition, in Freestyle with Fear of Curry, a Bhut Jolokia Chocolate sauce built around a curry blend designed to upgrade exactly that dish.
Weißhaupt, a comic illustrator by training, has been building Ravensfeuer in Ravensburg since 2016, with a small team and a hand-production model that runs counter to commercial chili sauces: roughly 40% fruit content where mass-market sauces sit at 10 or less, no flavour enhancers, no concentrates. The range covers chili sauces, chutneys, fresh products and a chili mustard, sold at weekly markets in Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen, at food fairs, and through the Ravensfeuer shop.
Nathan Austin on Fear of Curry:
"This is the one Freestyle entry that announces what it's trying to do in its own name. Bhut Jolokia Chocolate carries a brown-fruit register most chili-heads know from extreme builds, and pairing it with a self-roasted curry blend lets the spices, not the heat, do the lead work." – Nathan Austin, Tasting Editor, Republic of Heat
Fear of Curry took a Silver Medal in Freestyle: Bhut Jolokia Chocolate as the base chili, around 40% chili content, with a curry blend Weißhaupt designed and roasts spice by spice before grinding (black pepper, coriander, bay, juniper, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, fenugreek, anise, cloves). Tamarind, fresh coriander, ginger, garlic and lemongrass round it out. Built for cooking sauces and marinades with an Asian register, or, as the maker frames it, mixed with ketchup for a serious Currywurst upgrade.
"Well, I'm absolutely blown away. I've believed in my project since 2017, I set out to create the best chili sauces in the world. Now, with this silver award, I've moved at least a little bit closer to achieving that goal. A huge thank you to all the loyal customers and fans who kept me motivated, even during those times when I wasn't feeling so optimistic. And to everyone who has helped me along the way, and continues to do so." – Michael Weißhaupt, Ravensfeuer
The European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 ran over 200 sauces from across the continent through blind tasting this year, scored on five criteria by a deliberately mixed panel of chefs, sommeliers, critics and chilli specialists. Freestyle is the category for sauces that don't fit a fixed style brief, and 12 EU producers entered it in 2026.
"Freestyle is one of the trickier categories to medal in because there's no shared style to anchor against, just the panel deciding whether the producer's own idea works. A self-designed curry blend on Bhut Jolokia Chocolate is exactly the kind of build EHSA Freestyle is set up to surface, and we're watching closely for what Ravensfeuer brings next." – Neil Numb, Founder, European Hot Sauce Awards
Fear of Curry is available through Ravensfeuer at ravensfeuer.com. Full EHSA 2026 results across all 16 categories: heatawards.eu/results/2026?utm_source=press_release&utm_medium=press&utm_campaign=ehsa2026&utm_content=ravensfeuer.
PRESS RESOURCES Press kit (photos, logos, AI lifestyle composites credited Republic of Heat / European Hot Sauce Awards 2026): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17bWRaqtjXFi5d82uUMqHvWYZPHsH-Z9r?usp=drive_link
ABOUT RAVENSFEUER Ravensfeuer is a small-batch Chili-Manufaktur in Ravensburg, Oberschwaben, founded and run by Michael Weißhaupt, a comic illustrator by training who turned a long-running chili hobby into a manufaktur in 2016. The range covers chili sauces, chutneys, fresh products and a chili mustard, produced by hand in small batches with high fruit content and no artificial additives. Sold at weekly markets in Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen, at food fairs, and at ravensfeuer.com.
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN HOT SAUCE AWARDS The European Hot Sauce Awards (EHSA) is the professional competition for commercially produced hot sauces in Europe, run annually since 2024 from heatawards.eu. EHSA was born out of the Berlin Chili Festival, which has run since 2019 and returns 4–6 September 2026, and became an independent competition in 2024. Over 200 sauces from producers across the continent were entered in 2026. Entries are judged blind across five criteria: aroma, heat profile, flavour, creativity and finish. The 2026 edition covers 16 categories, with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals awarded across multiple positions in each. Each category also names a Best in Category, the top Gold. EHSA is run independently of any single producer or retailer.
ABOUT REPUBLIC OF HEAT Republic of Heat is a European hot sauce subscription designed to show off the flavours coming out of Europe and help solve the distribution problem independent makers face. Founded June 2025 in Berlin by Nathan "Naga" Austin and Simon "Scoville" Gardner. The Discovery subscription delivers three handpicked craft sauces plus a spicy extra to subscribers across the EU each month. Press partner of the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026. republicofheat.com.
PRESS CONTACT Press: Republic of Heat, on behalf of European Hot Sauce Awards contact@republicofheat.com +49 176 41601284
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