Chili Cookoff - A Novice Tells You What You Need to Know

Chili Cookoffs in the Southwest

“To Medal, or Not to Medal?”, this is the Question - Chili Cookoff Olympics

I asked my friend Anne-Marie to write a little bit about her new hobby. She told me how she and her husband were traveling all over the southwest cooking chili. And, she said, they were having the time of their lives. So, here is what you should know about chili cookoffs from the perspective of a newbie who fancies her hobby akin to an Olympic sport.

Anne-Marie Explains the Sport

I still consider myself to be a novice, even after cooking chili competitively in many, many cookoffs. After all, the current World Champion had been chasing that all-elusive 1st Place trophy (and $30,000) win at the World Chili Cookoff Championship for over 19 years.

He finally he got it right. He won the biggest award of all. He can now say that all his years of cooking chili led to the perfect chili. He is the BEST.

This year, the look on his face was just like an Olympian who had won the Gold Medal. There are a lot of other chili cooks who have earned regional 1st Place wins and are qualified to cook at the World Championship each year, but it only takes one mistake...missing one Double Axle-Triple Toe Loop... to take a cook from 1st place to not even placing for a Gold, or a Silver, or a Bronze Medal.

Cooking Chili is Serious Stuff

Chili cooks take their cooking very seriously, just like Olympians take their ice skating, skiing, bobsleding, curling, ice hockey, and snowboarding, seriously. You will see those serious faces especially when they hear the words, “Chili Cooks! Light your fires,” at noon on any given Cookoff day. At that moment, cooking gets serious. If you win a first place, it will qualify you to go to the World Championship in October.

The pressure is on. Chili cooks have one year to enter as many cookoffs as possible in order to get that win. And at every cookoff, the inexperienced and the very experienced come together to prove that their chili is the best.

They come together at places like Malibu, CA (on the beach), California City, CA (near Edwards Air Force Base), Las Vegas, NV (in the desert), Bullhead City, AZ (Arizona Veterans Memorial), Perris, CA (at the American Legion Post 595), San Bernadino, CA (the California State cookoff), Pahrump, NV (at the Saddle West Hotel, Casino and RV Park), Riverside CA (Inland Empire Regional), Laughlin, NV(Mojave Desert/High Desert), Lost Lake, CA, Tustin, CA, (Tustin Street Fair), Flagstaff AZ (Annual Route 66 Regional), or Big Bear, CA (up in the mountains). That’s just a few select places where chili history can be made.

Chili Cookoffs are Great Fun

All the cookoffs are fun. It’s family fun. There are competitions for other events, as well, like Best Booth, Best First Time Cook, Miss Chili Pepper, Mr. Hot Sauce, and the all-famous Shoot & Holler contest. There’s always live entertainment with a local country band, or a street fair to enjoy, or sometimes an antique car show. Sometimes there will be pony rides for the kids, and beer gardens, with lots of beer, sausages and food galore, including chili!

Going the Extra Mile on the Chili Circuit

Chili cooks come to cookoffs in any type of automobile, trailer, RV, camper or towable contraption imaginable. If it can be loaded with expandable canopies, tool boxes, cooking boxes, chairs, tables, coolers, booth decorations, etc. then it comes to the cookoffs.

Only Part of the Fun is in the Winning

To add to the fun, there’s the money and trophies for Red Chili, Verde Chili and Salsa. The food judging is great, but the fun everyone has at a chili cookoff is the reason why even the losers come back again, and again, and again for that elusive 1st place trophy. It’s the win, the friendships, and the fun that makes the cooks come back for more.

Yep, we’re Olympians, we are....competitive and drooling for that win!

Well... kind of.

Anne-Marie Jones
Novice, but still learning
International Chili Society
Member #7664
Murrieta, CA

More Information on Chili Cookoffs

List of Chili Cookoff Events - State by State

Chili Facts and Fun

Winning Recipe for 2006 - J.R.'s Rough and Ready Chili

Winning Recipe for 2005 - Dog Breath Chili