Gerald Fowler – Creator of the Naga Viper

British chili farmer Gerald Fowler made history in 2011 when he introduced the Naga Viper, a super-hot chili that briefly held the Guinness World Record for the hottest pepper in the world. Fowler, who runs the Chilli Pepper Company in Cumbria, England, developed this fiery hybrid by combining three of the spiciest chilies known at the time: Bhut Jolokia, Naga Morich, and Trinidad Scorpion.

The result was a 1.38 million SHU monster with an unstable genetic structure, meaning each plant could produce slight variations in shape and heat. Though the Naga Viper’s reign was short-lived, its creation demonstrated how hybridization could push chili heat even further, setting the stage for future record-breakers like the Carolina Reaper.

Fowler’s work highlighted that the UK could compete in the global chili market, even against tropical climates more traditionally associated with hot pepper cultivation. The Naga Viper remains a part of chili history, proving that strategic crossbreeding could yield some of the most intense peppers on the planet.