Playground magazine

This is a very typical chilli from the North of Mexico; it's tiny, round and dangerous. It goes super well with beef, throwing one in your mouth after every other bite. They can be green or flashy, shiny red – a perfect match for flashy, shiny red boots.

This chilli’s popular name comes from its peculiar way of growing pointing up instead of hanging down. Even though it's a very small chilli, it's über hot. Not everyone can handle this one directly, so it's good for making salsas. I collect these ones myself, near my parent's house. Since it's a very wet, humid and wild area, it’s best to do this whilst wearing proper rain boots.

This is actually the same chilli as the Jalapeño, but dried, smoked and processed. Nothing compares to the almost sweet flavour of a properly done, home-made chipotle. It goes well with pork, chicken or turkey dishes; it's a good winter chilli for special occasions, just like a nice pair of furry boots.

This crazy chilli from the South East of Mexico has the reputation of being one of the meanest chillies, but its unique taste - and reaction in the mouth - makes every flavour explode. You can never go wrong when pairing it with fresh sea food, just as you can never go wrong wearing a nice pair of fresh summer boots while eating them.

The famous Jalapeño Chilli actually comes from my hometown, Xalapa. Nowadays it has some negative connotations – a sad image - because the Americans made it an important ingredient for lame junk food like nachos. They use them in the worst way . . . sliced with vinegar. If you have it fresh, it's a great chilli to bite into just as is. It goes well with seafood and meat as well. You can grill it and have it on the side of your plate almost as a side dish. Such a nice chilli, which comes from my region, goes well with a nice pair of boots from Naolinco aka ‘Boot Town’ (a small town near Xalapa specialised in shoe making).