Introduction: Hot Questions With Even Hotter Guests
This week, we go to YouTube for inspiration for our Hot Ones Dinner Party. Hot Ones is a popular YouTube talk Show. For a decade, Sean Evans has been combining the neutralizing effects of hot sauce and well-researched, thoughtful questions to deliver entertaining interviews with celebrities. It is a household favourite. For a while, we were ordering chicken wings from our local restaurant every Thursday and watching the latest interview over dinner.
Since Hot Ones has been around, people have been throwing their own Hot Ones Dinner Parties. For good reason – it can be done on a budget and is a surefire way to get your guests into the moment.
The Decor: My Eyes Are Down Here
Hot Ones is well-known for its minimal set. The hot sauces in question (more on that later) were displayed on the table, alongside some very, very cold water. We didn’t think the sauces we chose were spicy enough to have milk on the table (at least in this economy). The place settings were completed with a classic red cloth napkin.
Also, no one notices the decorations when you are wearing a bald cap (assuming you are not already bald). If you don’t already have one in your closet, find the cheapest one you can and pair it with a black golf shirt. Now that you look the part, it is time to do some digging on your guests.
The Prep: Channel Your Inner Sean Evans
I did not have real encounters with spicy food until well into high school when I started dating my now husband. One of my worst experiences was at his family’s camp, where I was subjected to a chili that we ended up eating at every lunch and dinner the whole weekend. I’m not exaggerating when I say I had to eat almost an entire loaf of bread each meal to get it down; all the while, my eyes were watering, and my cheeks were bright red. I ended up having the same chilli recipe again years later, and my spice tolerance had improved so much that I had no physical reaction (besides the recoil that came along with reliving my shame).
Most people have similar stories when sharing their spicy food encounters. That’s where we started for the first question – what’s the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten, and how did it go? We got a few good stories with that question, but I began to grow a little bit concerned for the couple of people who did not have a story to contribute.
Now, do a little bit of research on your guests – even the ones you know well. This can help give you some inspiration for your questions, or at the very least will give you the material for question number five – explain that gram. If you can, drop a few comments throughout the night on what you found out. This will help solidify the Sean Evans effect we are going for.
Kim from Feed My Friends polled some of her guests for questions at her Hot Ones Dinner Party (check out her blog for more dinner party tips!). We have a habit of keeping our themes a secret, but this is a great option and gives you someone to offload some blame to when the questions get spicy.
The Questions: Are You Choosing Violence?
With only six guests, we opted to have everyone answer each question before moving on to the next wing. We stayed pretty tame for our ten questions – check them out:
- What’s the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten, and how did it go?
- If you could experience being any other person at the table for 24 hours, who would you pick?
- What’s a guilty pleasure TV show, movie, or food you secretly love?
- What is your favourite thing about the person on your right?
- DEEP DIVE ON OUR GUEST’S INSTAGRAM
- What’s something you believed as a kid that turned out to be completely wrong?
- What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever spent money on?
- If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- What’s a superstition or habit you have that you can’t shake?
- What’s the wildest or most unexpected thing on your bucket list?
The Menu: We All Scream For Ice Cream
The night before our Hot Ones Dinner Party, my husband went to the grocery store and bought a few different hot sauces. He didn’t use the Scoville scale to rank the sauces but instead decided to taste them and rank them himself. This is an extra step I would highly recommend getting someone else to do and watching. It was very entertaining watching him sip hot sauce out of a spoon and very seriously deliberate on where the sauce should be placed in the lineup.
In a perfect world, I would have loved to purchase the exact hot sauces from the show. Unfortunately, buying ten new sauces was out of the price range we had set for the night. Looking back, I probably would have gotten one or two from the list but only as an option for the friends who could handle spice.
For sides, we went with coleslaw and another salad to help offset the heat of the wings. For dessert (or in case of major panic), we had vanilla ice cream on standby in the freezer. Be sure to let your guests know you have this ahead of time.
Conclusion: Was It Worth It?
Absolutely. As the hot sauce amped up, guards went down, and the night ended in some pretty heavy conversation. It was nice, and I think everyone left feeling a little bit more connected.
Turns out you don’t even need to go that spicy to get your friends to open up at a Hot Ones Dinner Party. That being said, if you are confident that your friendship can stand the test of da Bomb we implore you to use it.
We knew we made the right choice in keeping on the milder side when we saw fear in their eyes. We told them not to worry as only the last two sauces were really, really hot.
For me, the stakes were especially high the entire night as I was also handling my daughter. No cross-contamination on my watch!
Also, at the end of the night, be sure to save that bald cap. You will be needing it again.
Hot Gifts For Your Host
If you find yourself on the receiving end of a Hot Ones Themed Dinner Party don’t panic. We have a few recommendations for a thank-you gift to bring for your host or hostess.
The obvious first choice is your favourite hot sauce. I would avoid the over-the-top hot sauces unless your host does enjoy them. We have received a few of those, and they always end up sitting in the fridge until the expiry date.
An Emergency Fire Blanket makes a practical but funny gift. Speaking from experience, make sure they know that it is fibreglass. It will end up making a mess if they decide to open it up just to check it out.
