> How many other English Chile Heads are there? My list is up to 23 now. That's just those of us who post once in a while, of course, not the lurkers. Most English towns of any size have an immigrant population, usually Indian / Pakistani, who run small shops where you can get a good range of curry spices and fresh chiles absurdly cheaply. If there's a West Indian presence you'll find good sauces, like the Encona range, and possibly spice pastes. Chinese, lots of chile and ginger based sauces and pastes. The bigger Chinese wholesale/retail provisioners will also have Thai and Japanese. Admittedly we're especially well off in south/central Manchester, but even the small provincial town in the Midlands where I used to live was adequately supplied. I'd expect posh Anglo places like Harvey Nichols to be more limited and more expensive, though I never go near them so I could be wrong... For restaurant listings - curry not chile, but compatible :-) http://www.curryhouse.co.uk/index.htm Mary ps Speaking of shopping, a bag of wasabi powder followed me home from the local Chinese recently :-) Any suggestions for how to use it, besides the excellent mashed potato recipe posted recently (thanks Myron!) ?