All hail the Hatch Green Chile: Chuy's Orlando celebrates with 27th annual festival

Yes, I love hot. Oh yes I do. Chuy's invited me to their annual Green Chile Festival this week and I said yes, I'll go. Oh yes I will.

Chuy’s 27th annual Green Chile Festival will kicked off Monday, August 17 and runs thru Sunday, September 6 at all Central Florida Chuy's locations (Kissimmee, I-Shops, Wally Park). Chuy’s puts the green chile center stage this year by capturing a “music festival” theme with a spirit of celebration and discovery.

This annual food festival celebrates the green chile harvest in Hatch, New Mexico with a special menu offered for a limited three week period. This year’s menu features six new dishes including Green Chile Pork Tamales, Bacon Wrapped Pork Rellenos and Veggie Fajitas. To cool down on a hot festival day Chuy’s will also feature a Frozen Watermelon Margarita and a Spicy Cucumber Texas Martini. The popular New Mexican Martini, made with green chile infused tequila, is always a festival favorite.

Chuy’s love for the green chile dates back to 1989 when their founders traveled to the “Chile Capital of the World” in search of the perfect pepper to complement their authentic Tex-Mex. The arid climate and rich soil of the Hatch Valley in New Mexico are uniquely suited to grow this legendary pepper and are not found anywhere else in the world.

As the first to host a green chile festival outside of New Mexico, Chuy’s commitment to offering the most flavorful pepper on the planet continues today. This year alone Chuy’s contracted with farmers to grow over 2 million pounds of the freshest green chiles just for their restaurants. When the chiles reach their height of flavor in August, Chuy’s will send a team of restaurant managers to the Hatch Valley to bring back the finest, fresh-picked chiles for the festival.

“This time of year is like a holiday for us at Chuy’s,” said John Mountford, Director of Culinary Operations for Chuy’s. “After months of cultivating new and excited recipes and watching the green chiles grow to the right size, color and texture, we can’t wait for the harvest to finally arrive at our restaurants. Green Chile Festival is the only time of year that we showcase new menu items and it’s the perfect chance for us to share this one-of-a-kind pepper with our customers.”

Customers are encouraged to join in on the fun by visiting their local Chuy’s Green Chile Festival merchandise booth for festival tees, free concert ear plugs and guitar picks. They can also enter a chance to win free Chuy’s for a year by posting a picture of their favorite Green Chile Festival menu item to Instagram and tagging @chuysrestaurant with #GreenChileFest.