A TEAM from the White Hart Hotel in Bridgwater showed they could handle the heat by winning the UK Chilli Cook-Off Championships.

Trevor Jenkins and his team beat more than 100 other teams from across the UK. The team now qualify to represent the UK at the World Chilli Cook-Off in the USA later this year.

The victory follows winning 'best chilli in the South West' at the UK Chilli Cook-Off Association (UKCCA) regional cook-offs at the start of September at Upton Cheyney.

The White Hart 'chilled out chilli' team consists of licensee Trevor, chef and son, Adam Jenkins and head chef Steve Wilkinson, who scored an impressive 205 points out of the 250 – the best ever awarded score.

The UKCCA deems that 'chilli' is defined as any kind of meat or combination of meats, or vegetables, cooked with chilli peppers, spices and other ingredients.

The team at The White Hart has been busy honing their award-winning recipe for a number of years with their success in part being thanks to a specially formulated and crafted chilli paste.

Judges score each chilli dish on its appearance, aroma, consistency, taste and aftertaste.

To celebrate the win, every Saturday at the White Hart Hotel will host 'UK Chilled out Chilli Night' with chilli, karaoke and Cobra beers on offer.

Trevor Jenkins, Licensee for The White Hart Hotel, Bridgwater said: “Our family recipe is to create a special powder paste which we then marinade the beef in.

"Great taste and flavours is at the heart of what we offer at the White Hart Hotel and we are delighted to now offer our award winning tex-mex chilli to our patrons every Saturday.”

Edwin Pope, Business Development Manager for the local area at Admiral Taverns, said: “We are thrilled for Trevor and The White Hart Hotel, and their award winning chilli; this is a great achievement and is another great reason to eat at The White Hart Hotel in Bridgwater.”

The World Chilli Cook-Offs will take place on Wednesday, November 9 at Orange Beach, Alabama. All of the chilli cook-offs help raise money for various charities.