Well, another chili cook off is in the books. The 5th Annual Liberty Park Chili Society Cook Off at 5 Seasons Brewery Westside was this past Saturday, and we had over 130 people brave the untimely rain and overall dreary weather, to consume spice, grease, and frosty suds in the name of fun, sport, and charity.
This was the first year we held the event at 5 Seasons, which with their large patio would have been the perfect location for us had it not been for the rain. Even so, we managed to deal with the drizzle by the benevolence of chili-goers who lent us tailgating style tents for the outdoor/chili eating area. And the staff at 5 Seasons couldn’t have been better; they really did an excellent job. A hearty thanks to them.
Also a huge thanks to Jaimie Cohen of Estoria Social wedding and event planning, who was instrumental in venue selection, general planning, and day-of operations/fluidity of the cook off.
We had fewer people attend compared to last year, though the weather certainly kept some people away. Now that we know the space we’re dealing with, we can plan for an even bigger, better, and more charitable event in 2013. That being said, I had an excellent time (except for trying the spiciest chili entrants) and we have about $500 to give to Hands on Atlanta.
With that, here are the winners from Saturday.
Spiciest - Travis M. took down four time champion Ryan J. in the silliest category of the bunch with his “turkey sausage and strip steak browned with habeneros and sweet peppers slow cooked with kidney beans, bhut jolokia peppers (ghost chilis), habeneros and jalapenos.”
I ate one spoonful of Travis’ chili and was ok for a few moments, then developed raging, embarrassingly loud hiccups. For hours I felt nauseous and had to go home after the event because I felt ill. So I’d say he deserved the trophy.
Best Unique - Emily W. easily took down this prize with her Da “Bomb”bay Chili, an Indian spice oriented chili featuring pistachios, raisins, ground turkey, and serrano peppers. It was quite good; the chili was also highly ranked as best overall chili.
Best Overall - We had an unprecedented tie in the best overall category between Cindy S. and Liesel K. Cindy (aka my mom – rigged!) won with her Baaad to the Bone lamb chili, with a touch of chorizo and hominy, while Liesel and Mike sought revenge for last year’s close loss with their uniquely named but more traditionally flavored Mouth Orgasm Chili II: Sloppy Seconds.
Here you see Liesel K. sharing the hardware – don’t worry, we ordered another trophy so the battle for the hardware didn’t come to blows.
In case you were wondering, I made a traditional Texas red chili based on this award winning recipe from Woody DeSilva, with a few variations. That fiery red color is great! I’m now firmly rooted in the thought that homemade chili powders/pastes are the way to go. There’s so much more depth from whole dried, toasted, and pureed chilis. Mine included a fragrant, fruity, and spicy mix of ancho, guajillo, and habanero.
Again, thanks to all who attended, and we hope to see even more people next year!
