Berlin’s Best Homemade Hot Sauce Competition — 2026
All participants must register in advance to take part in the competition.
Individual sauces are registered in person at the qualifying event.
Calling all amateur hot sauce makers! Enter your original home-made, non-commercial hot sauce creations in Berlin’s Best Homemade Hot Sauce Competition, in partnership with Republic of Heat and Berlin Chili Fest 2026.
🧪 How It Works
1️⃣ Online Participant Registration (Required)
All participants must first register via the official competition form:
👉 https://republicofheat.com/competition
- Registration is mandatory
- Walk-in entries cannot be accepted
- Registration is for the participant, not individual sauces
- Participants may bring multiple sauces to their qualifier
Only registered participants will be eligible to compete.
2️⃣ Sauce Registration at the Qualifier
At your assigned qualifying event, you will register your individual sauces in person before judging begins.
- Each sauce will be labelled and logged on-site
- Sauces are submitted for blind tasting
- Multiple sauces per participant are welcome
3️⃣ Qualifying Rounds (February–May 2026)
After registering, participants will be invited to attend one of the qualifying tasting events you choose held across Berlin.
At each qualifier:
- Sauces are blind-tasted by judges and audience members
- Feedback is provided
- Top-scoring entries advance to the finals
Participants will be notified in advance of their allocated qualifier.
4️⃣ Finals at Berlin Chili Fest
Finalists compete live on stage at Berlin Chili Fest 2026 (29–31 May).
Winners are announced during the festival awards ceremony.
📅 Timeline
- Registration Opens: January 2026
- Qualifiers: February – May 2026
- Finals: May 2026 at Berlin Chili Fest
🏆 Prize
The overall winner receives:
- Professional sauce development support
- Access to a certified production kitchen
- Recipe refinement assistance
- A small production run of 100 bottles
🧑🍳 Rules & Entry Conditions
- Advance participant registration is required
- Walk-in participation is not permitted
- Sauce entries are registered at the event
- Multiple sauces per participant are allowed
- All sauces must be homemade and non-commercial
- Proper food hygiene and safe bottling methods are required
- Judges’ decisions are final
✅ How to Enter
To participate:
- Register online as a participant:
👉 https://republicofheat.com/competition - Wait for confirmation and qualifier details
- Bring your sauce(s) to your assigned event
- Register your sauce entries on site
- Invite your friends to the community judging events
Any questions please email saucecomp@republicofheat.com