Jalapenos, Habaneros, Tabasco, Ghost Chilies, and pepper. These are just a few of Pierre LePage’s “favorite things!”

The Boise Hawks second baseman has a love for spicy food, and while some people can’t handle the heat, LePage will ask for seconds. When LePage was a kid, he discovered his palate for spice on accident. Ever since then, he can remember having the taste buds to handle some of the hottest spices out there.

“I don’t know how it happened. When I was about five or six years old, we had a garden in the back yard. One day I was playing around and I started grabbing stuff out of it and I ended up eating a hot pepper,” said LePage. “My mouth was on fire as I was running through the house, trying to eat bread and drink milk. Ever since then, I have been putting hot sauce on everything. I don’t know if that experience burned my taste buds off or not.”

Recently at Flying Pie Pizzeria, LePage was able to down two pieces of the famous habanero pizza without even breaking a sweat. With taste buds like that, it’s hard to imagine if there is anything that makes LePage flinch.

“I was at the mall one time back home, where they have a hot sauce stand. I asked the guy there to give me the hottest sauce that they had. He put some of it on a toothpick and put it on a tortilla chip and gave it to me. It was pretty hot,” said LePage. “That, and the ‘Inferno Wings Challenge’ at Cheerleaders.”

After taking that challenge, the habanero pizza was nothing for LePage.

“I’m not a big pizza guy but if I were to go back there, I would probably order that pizza every day. It wasn’t that hot but it tasted great and it is something I would eat every time, not just for a challenge,” said LePage.

Not all spicy food out there is so hot that it has you running for the hills. Sometimes something as simple as jalapeno peppers can give you some spice, but offer some great taste.

“I really like jalapeno peppers. I usually put them on my burgers, and I also put hot sauce on just about everything except salads or fruits. My whole life I have moved from flavor to flavor,” said LePage.

LePage has even gone through phases when it comes to his personal preference.

“I started out with Texas Pete’s then moved to Louisiana Hot. I am currently on a Tabasco binge. It’s funny because four years ago it was hot to me and now, I can barely taste it. I think it is getting worse and pretty soon, I’ll probably be eating ghost chilies for fun,” said LePage.

When it comes to being able to fulfill his appetite, LePage enjoys everything. From Mexican food to throwing on some Tabasco on pasta, LePage enjoys kicking it up a notch.

“Mexican food is always pretty good because they have real salsa that they put in the burritos. I appreciate real salsa more than the bottled salsa,” said LePage.

If the food is too hot to handle, there are always some good remedies to calm down your taste buds. Not that LePage ever needs those.

“The only time I have ever had to use anything was the time that I ate the pepper when I was a kid. I have tried remedies just to see what works. I have found that milk works pretty well and bread works pretty well,” said LePage. “When I was at Cheerleaders some of the guys said that putting sugar packets on your tongue helps.”

LePage’s grit and never say die attitude have made him a fan favorite in Boise. In the challenge of spicy food vs. LePage, it wouldn’t be wise to bet against LePage!

Till next time..

Chad Bates
Media Relations Assistant
Boise Hawks