“I think my love for spicy food can be traced back to when my mother used to rub garlic on the soles of our bare feet as kids. The practice came from Ukrainian folk medicine to help cure a common cold. Although the raw clove in question was not ingested, it does show how much garlic was a staple in our household growing up. Now, when I say I love spicy food, please don’t think I’m someone devouring a Carolina Reaper chili pepper to prove my masculinity. I’m actually lower on the Scoville scale, going for medium rather than hot. But I would say over the years I feel like my spice tolerance has increased—this might be just because as you get older, your sense of taste diminishes. So nowadays, we have a condiment shelf in our fridge reserved just for hot sauce.For our March issue, we’re all about spicy cuisine, with our team of chiliphiles reviewing 15 spicy dishes around the city. Also as part of our cover story, we profile some spice makers bringing their blends to the Lakehead and, from their home kitchen to throughout the world, Bonnie Schiedel talks to the owners of Heartbeat Hot Sauce about their humble beginnings and what the future has in store for the little bottle that could. Keeping with our theme, our pommelier and sommelier Jeannie Dubois presents some picante drinks and cool pairings; Susan Pretty visits the East Indian grocery store Rice N Spice Heritage; and film columnist  Michael Sobota shares his picks for spicy films. Also in the pages of our March issue, Kris Ketonen chats with country and western singer-songwriter Corb Lund about his upcoming concert at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, Matt Prokopchuk goes Eye to Eye with Michela Cava about her first upcoming season playing in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and Amy Sellors previews Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s Derelicte as the fashion odyssey celebrates 14 years. This issue marks my first month back in the editor’s chair after my paternity leave. Special thanks to Matt for doing a tremendous job in my absence! Although Theodore is still a little young for spicy dishes, I keep the tradition alive of rubbing raw garlic on his feet whenever he has a runny nose.”

 -Adrian Lysenko