A new Domino's promotion daring customers to risk eating pizza topped with the world's hottest chilli has been put to the test by the AM Show hosts - with disastrous results.
The Halloween 'Pizza Roulette' promotion from the fast-food chain means customers can take the challenge to 'treat' themselves to 'Carolina Reaper' chilli sauce for free on any pizza on the menu.
The trick? The store won't tell you which slice it's hiding on.
According to Domino's, the pepper in question holds the highest spot on the Scoville Scale - a measurement of the pungency of chilli peppers - at a blazing 2.2 million.
The pizza roulette promotion is not a new one - it was previously used by competitor Hells Pizza back in 2012, In which an unidentified slice of a pizza was also doused with the "hottest chili known to mankind".
But Domino's NZ General Manager Cameron Toomey says while it's not a new concept, they know it's "one Kiwis love".
"We're turning up the heat by using the hottest chilli in the world, the Carolina Reaper Chilli Pepper," he said.
"We know New Zealand is a nation full of thrill-seekers, so why not celebrate Halloween in the hottest way possible?"
The pizza promotion was put to the test on The AM Show on Friday, when co-hosts Ryan Bridge, Amanda Gillies and Mark Richardson each took an individual slice of a supplied pizza, in an on-air version of roulette.
But they were soon united after speculation reigned that they'd been tricked by the fast-food restaurant, as each host cringed at their respective levels of heat.
"Oh God, that's really spicy," Gillies exclaimed. "Have they totally tricked us?"
Richardson accused the fast-food giant of committing "a stitch-up".
"I reckon they've made them all hot - bastards!" he said.
But Bridge seems relatively unperturbed.
"Mine's hot, but not hot-hot," he observed. "It's Kiwi-hot."
Spice fans wanting to try the pizza for themselves will need to get in quick - the promotion is reportedly only running for a week.
