Residents from across the Island are set battle it out in a pickled onion competition for charity, which is due to take place at the end of the month.
The event began when two regulars from an Island pub took on the unique challenge of seeing who could make the best jar of pickled onions.
Now, over 10 years since the first competition, around 40 varieties of onion are entered, with the winner being crowned the Pickle King or Queen.
The competition is held to raise much-needed donations for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), and has risen over £27,000 for the charity to date.
Last year's Pickle King
A spokesman for the competition, Mr. Ashdown, explained how the first two years of the pickle wars were just for fun, but after the onion war founder Terry Ashdown’s grandson, Daniel, was born with a rare, life threatening liver disease, the event became a fundraiser for CLDF.
Mr. Ashdown went on to say: “We want to raise as much as we can, so that they can continue to support other families and fund vital research into the causes of childhood liver disease.”
The competition is to be held in the bar of the Woodvale Hotel in Cowes on Sunday 30th January from 12.00pm, and is open to everyone.
The Pickle King or Queen is crowned by customers who mark each entry out of 10, with the winner being awarded half a pint of lager and their new royal pickle title.
Organiser of the event, Lee Taylor said: “Some people have pickled onion recipes that have been passed down through generations and are very protective over their ingredients.”
“You have to be very brave to try every single one. We have to test some of them and put warnings on the bowls because they are so full of chilli. Some of them are very, very hot indeed.”
Money is raised for the charity from a raffle, auction and donations from every pint of beer sold at the bar.
