Not hot enough for you, huh?

I smell a challenge!

A person who used to work as a chef posted a story on Reddit’s “Malicious Compliance” page where they talked about what happened when a customer got a little too big for his britches when it came to the HEAT.

No one ever makes it hot enough? Ok then, you asked for it!

I used to be a chef in a Mexican Restaurant in a small town in Australia nearly 40 years ago.

We were modestly popular and I loved working there. One night a young man came in to dine with a young lady. It was very obviously a first date. They ordered a nachos to share with a side of jalapenos for their entrée, and he ordered a steak vera cruz (hot) for his main and the young lady ordered a chicken burrito (mild) for hers.

This guy wanted the heat turned up…and he kind of sounded like he thought he was a big shot.

I, as I usually did throughout the night, would walk around the tables and ask if people were enjoying the food. After the nachos I checked on them and the young man informed me that the chilli that accompanied the nachos were not hot at all and that he loved hot food.

I was informed that he had travelled extensively and had eaten some of the hottest food in the world and that no one had ever made a dish too hot for him. He reiterated that he wanted his steak main extra hot. To be honest I found him to be pompous and rather obnoxious in the way he was speaking down to me and found myself taking a disliking to him.

I will add at this point that the young lady was looking a little uncomfortable and I got the impression her date was not going as she had expected.

So what else could they do but make this guy squirm?

I headed to the kitchen. I made her a lovely chicken burito while putting together his steak. He wanted it hot?? He was going to get it!

Our steak vera cruz was usually a steak cooked and topped with our house tomato sauce base with some capsicums (bell peppers for you Americans) and onions with a touch of chilli.

On this occasion I set to work. Keep in mind this was Australia back in the 1980s and we did not get a lot of different chillies back then and a jalapeno was considered hot by most Aussie palates. Hey, we were an uneducated bunch!

They piled on the hot stuff!

I had a few birds eye chillies in the kitchen that were mainly there for the staff and the resident Mexican guitarist’s meals so I started with those. I finely diced about 10 of those with their seeds. I then started sweating off my onions and capsicums. I then threw in the chillies and then I added about a tablespoon of chilli powder and about a tablespoon of cayenne.

I soon felt the fumes hit my nose and the back of my throat and my eyes started watering. I ran to the door of the kitchen to get a breath of breathable air as the air in my tiny kitchen was rapidly becoming unbreathable. I ran back to my pan and put a ladle of the house tomato sauce in.

I then let that simmer for a few minutes. I then added some chopped up jalapenos from a jar in my fridge and thought why not, and in went a bit more chilli powder.

I then put the flash fried steak in to finish it off in the sauce. I served it all up on a plate with some rice, served up the chicken burrito and hit the bell for the waitress to serve it to the table.

This guy didn’t understand what he was in for…

The waitress came back and told me that as she placed it in front of him he said ‘This had better be hot’. She assured him the chef had done as he requested. I went to the door of the kitchen, joined by my waitress, to watch the show unfold, and unfold it did!

I watched with glee as he sliced the steak, took a piece on his fork and with a smug look on his face, he put it in his mouth. He took a chew and then realised his mistake. I saw it. That moment when his face changed but he was trying so hard not to show it.

If you can’t stand the heat…

He couldn’t. He was on a date and he had bragged so hard and now he had to go through with it.

He ate the steak. I could see every ounce of pain on his face.

He struggled. He struggled hard.

His date watched him with a slight smile on her lips and I got the impression that she was thoroughly enjoying his pain.

He went through several jugs of water. He sweated. He barely spoke.

He looked really uncomfortable.

But this guy still had to grandstand in front of his date.

At the end of the meal I came out of the kitchen and asked him if he had enjoyed his meal. His words? ‘Could have been hotter.’

He never came back. His date? She became a regular and told us he was an insufferable fool and she never saw him again. I have no regrets other than I wish Carolina Reapers had been around then.

Check out what folks had to say.

This reader had a painful experience with food a while back.

One individual used to serve a customer with an iron stomach.

This Reddit user talked about a kid who dared to eat a Carolina Reaper.

This reader has a friend who can eat anything.

And this individual asked for it and GOT IT.

I bet that guy felt pretty dumb!

Bet he won’t do that again!