What started as a niche topping for pizza obsessives has now blown up into a cult condiment. Hot honey – that irresistible blend of sweet and spicy – now dubbed ‘Swicy’ is the new food craze that seems to be on everyone’s lips – from home cooks, to retailers and restaurants adding the sweet heat to their menus.
And while this buzzworthy combo has been around for years in places like Brazil and the US, the UK is finally catching up, thanks to brands like The WilderBee Hot Honey.
Hot honey has been around forever in some form or another, but the modern revival started in the US about 20 years ago, with Mike’s Hot Honey credited for bringing it to the states after spotting the chilli-honey combo in Brazil.
Fast forward to today, and it’s everywhere – drizzled on pizza, fried chicken, cocktails, and even over ice cream.
In the UK, hot honey’s rise is impossible to ignore. Not long ago, you’d struggle to find it outside of niche delis or foodie Instagram accounts.
Now, it’s hitting supermarket shelves, restaurant menus, and Michelin-starred kitchens. Google Trends reveals that searches for ‘hot honey’ are the highest they’ve ever been in the UK, with interest in the term steadily climbing over the past five years.
The WilderKitchen: The UK’s Original Hot Honey
Before the UK was putting hot honey on everything, London eco-chef Dan Shearman of The WilderKitchen was ahead of the curve. After trying it on pizza in New York back in 2014, Dan knew his fellow Brits would love it too. So, he started selling his own Hot Honey creation straight from the hatch of his London Food Truck.
This isn’t just any hot honey – WilderBee Hot Honey takes it to another level, using bee-friendly honey from ethically managed hives, infusing their products with sustainably grown chillies. The result is a unique sweet and spicy condiment that has the UK buzzing.
The Shops, The Chefs, and The Hype
If you’ve tried hot honey in the UK, chances are it was The WilderKitchen’s. Their products are everywhere – Marks & Spencer, Co-op, Whole Foods, Booths, Harrods, and Harvey Nichols all stock them.
Food critic Tom Parker-Bowles himself has recently given WilderBee Hot Honey his seal of approval, calling it ‘floral and fruity, with a chilli kick that’s just the right level of ferocious.’ If it’s good enough for the son of the Queen, then it’s good enough for your toast.
Food trends come and go but hot honey feels different. It’s versatile enough to work in sweet and savoury dishes, has a natural ‘wow’ factor, and taps into that ongoing love for fusion flavours. As more chefs, home cooks, and retailers embrace it, hot honey is shifting from trend to kitchen staple.
“Hot honey is no longer just a trend – it’s becoming a kitchen staple,” says Dan Shearman, founder of The WilderKitchen. “It started out as a hobby with me lugging huge buckets of honey up and down the Northern Line in the early days, and now I get to see our hot honey on menus at national restaurants and on supermarket shelves. It’s been a wild ride, but seeing how much people love it makes those past hot, sticky commutes all worth it.”
So whether you’re drizzling it on pizza, spicing up roasted veg, fried chicken, ice cream, or adding it to your next cocktail, one thing’s clear: hot honey isn’t going anywhere.
