The Pohorje range follows the Slovenian-Austrian Carinthian border, with mountain dairy off its pastures and the farmhouse pita and mežerli that turn up at village holidays. POHORC BIO CHILI, a certified organic family farm in the Šentjanža hills near Dravograd run by Denis Ledinek, has taken Gold and Best in Category in Chili Honey at the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 (heatawards.eu), Europe's flagship hot sauce competition.
POHORC's chili side runs to roughly five hundred plants each season in the greenhouse on the Ržen family farm, a certified organic operation that's held its organic certification for over twenty years. The chili work started with twelve pepper seedlings, a birthday gift from Denis's brother, and grew alongside the farm's other crops into a small-batch hand-bottled range with every plant named from germination through to fruit. Hot Honey is built on Metelka's village apiary and Denis's grandfather's hazelnut vinegar from the family land, the only certified-organic Slovenian hot honey on the market.
Nathan Austin on Hot Honey:
"The chili runs very finely through the honey, no crunch or grit, just an even build of heat that's phenomenal but handled, not aggressive, not pain-for-pain's-sake. The kind of sauce we'd take to a chicken and waffles brunch and put on everything." – Nathan Austin, Tasting Editor, Republic of Heat
Hot Honey (Gold, Best in Category, Chili Honey): 100% organic Slovenian honey from Metelka's beehives in the village, apple cider vinegar drawn from Denis's grandfather's old wild hazelnut tree on the family land, chili and spices stirred through and infused for several days. Floral and runny on the pour, gentle sweetness up front with the heat building through the back.
"We've put Slovenia firmly on the European chili map. What started in a small boutique kitchen on our family organic farm Ržen, driven by passion, bold ideas, and our own handcrafted recipes, grew into something far bigger, standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the best chili producers across Europe and taking home 1st place in Chili Honey. Competing against established names from across the continent and coming out on top is more than just an award. It's proof that dedication, creativity, and relentless work can turn a local vision into European recognition. This victory belongs to the entire team that poured its energy, talent, and heart into every jar." – Denis Ledinek, POHORC BIO CHILI
The European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 ran over 200 sauces from across the continent through blind tasting this year, scored on five criteria by a deliberately mixed panel of chefs, sommeliers, critics and chilli specialists. POHORC BIO CHILI's Hot Honey came out on top of a continent-wide Chili Honey field.
"Chili Honey is one of the harder categories: no smoke or extract to hide behind, no novelty heat. The honey has to be right, the chili balanced through it, and the infusion has to land. POHORC delivers all three, on the back of a farm doing its own honey, its own vinegar, growing its own chili. EHSA exists to help identify and recognise outstanding hot sauce producers from across Europe, and POHORC BIO CHILI is a worthy winner." – Neil Numb, Founder, European Hot Sauce Awards
Hot Honey is available direct from POHORC BIO CHILI at cilipohorc.com. Full EHSA 2026 results across all 16 categories: heatawards.eu/results/2026?utm_source=press_release&utm_medium=press&utm_campaign=ehsa2026&utm_content=pohorc.
The European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 are announced ahead of the Berlin Chili Fest, 29–31 May 2026. Republic of Heat's EHSA 2026 Top 3 winner box is live at republicofheat.com/de-en/discovery-set/euhsa_top3, with further EHSA selection boxes at republicofheat.com/de-en/hot-sauce-sets.
PRESS RESOURCES Reveal video on YouTube, embeddable: - Chili Honey: https://youtu.be/KUVUZ0AKsdA Press kit (photos, logos, AI lifestyle composites credited Republic of Heat / European Hot Sauce Awards 2026): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15ExQhkUobi1ZBRgMD2OCt2wiFoSE9p10?usp=drive_link
ABOUT POHORC BIO CHILI POHORC BIO CHILI is a certified organic family farm in the hills of Šentjanža near Dravograd, in the foothills of Slovenia's Pohorje range, in the Koroška region. The Ržen family farm has been certified organic for over twenty years. The chili side of the operation started with twelve pepper seedlings, a birthday gift from Denis's brother, and now runs to roughly five hundred plants in the greenhouse each season, alongside the farm's other crops. Hand-bottled, small-batch, every plant on the farm given a name from germination through to fruit. Website: cilipohorc.com
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN HOT SAUCE AWARDS The European Hot Sauce Awards (EHSA) is the professional competition for commercially produced hot sauces in Europe, run annually since 2024 from heatawards.eu. EHSA was born out of the Berlin Chili Festival, which has run since 2019 and returns 29–31 May 2026, and became an independent competition in 2024. Over 200 sauces from producers across the continent were entered in 2026. Entries are judged blind across five criteria: aroma, heat profile, flavour, creativity and finish. The 2026 edition covers 16 categories, with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals awarded across multiple positions in each. Each category also names a Best in Category, the top Gold. EHSA is run independently of any single producer or retailer.
ABOUT REPUBLIC OF HEAT Republic of Heat is a European hot sauce subscription designed to show off the flavours coming out of Europe and help solve the distribution problem independent makers face. Founded June 2025 in Berlin by Nathan "Naga" Austin and Simon "Scoville" Gardner. The Discovery subscription delivers three handpicked craft sauces plus a spicy extra to subscribers across the EU each month. Press partner of the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026. republicofheat.com.
PRESS CONTACT Press: Republic of Heat, on behalf of European Hot Sauce Awards contact@republicofheat.com +49 176 41601284
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