‘Hot Ones’ brings back its holiday special, “the spiciest annual tradition of them all”

Last December, Gordon Ramsay sat across from Sean Evans to take his second shot at the Hot Ones gauntlet. As 2022 comes to a close, First We Feast is turning repeat performances into an annual tradition. The distributor of YouTube’s hottest interview show has uploaded the second Hot Ones Holiday Extravaganza, which features Will Ferrell as its special guest.

Evans, whose incisive interview style has made him one of YouTube’s most in-demand hosts, introduced the Extravaganza as the “spiciest annual traditional of them all.” His second discussion with Ferrell is the centerpiece of the episode, but the 42-minute video includes a number of segments led by First We Feast contributors. There’s a holiday food taste test with comedian Jesus Trejo, a leftovers recipe cooked by Burger Scholar Sessions host George Motz, and an awards segment that recaps the best reactions and spicy wing takedowns from the past 12 months of Hot Ones.

It all leads up to Ferrell’s second turn in the Sean Evans hot seat. The actor is a holiday legend thanks to his star turn in Elf

, and Hot Ones celebrated that Christmas classic by dressing up its hot sauce bottles in pointy little hats.

The Holiday Extravaganza is a jolly bit of fun, but it is more than a celebration of the merry season. It’s also a charity drive in support of Common Threads, which provides cooking and nutrition education for communities in need. Last year’s Extravaganza raised more than $119,000 for the organization, and Evans hopes to get to $150,000 this year.

So far, the 2022 Extravaganza has received 1.6 million views, reached the #4 spot on YouTube’s trending tab, and brought in another $50,000 for charity — and that’s all occurred in a single day. If you want to support First We Feast’s new annual tradition, you can give to Common Threads via its website.