TUESDAY - March 13, 2007

Back-to-Back South Florida Regionals - Inexcusably Late - by Sergei Kowalchik

Before I begin, I need to apologize to all the great cooks who participated in our Back-to-Back South Florida Regional Cookoffs (way back in February) for the tardiness of this.

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Shortly after the cookoffs, I wrote up the below posting to send to Dick's Chili World. I did it before leaving on a trip where I knew my internet access was going to be "crude" at best, and I sent it…or so I thought.

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I returned around a week ago and began the inevitable massive "catch-up" of pending issues. By yesterday, I had time to go to Dick's BLOG site, to get up to date on the world of chili…but I could not find my posting.

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Knowing how thorough Dick is, I started investigating possible SNAFUs on my part; I eventually found it in my Outlook Drafts. What can I say? Perhaps age is showing…but as they taught us as Plebes back at the Naval Academy: "No Excuse, Sir!"

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Now for the stray posting:

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Thanks to the great participation from over 30 ICS cooks (and not all the same cooks on both days), on February 11^th and 12^th, we had our best and most successful Back-to-Back Regional Cookoffs to date here in South Florida. For the record, the history and progression has gone something like this:

2003 – First time Districts, not Back-to-Back

2004 – Back-to-Back Districts; neither meets Regional criteria

2005 – Back-to-Back Districts; both meet Regional criteria for the following year

2006 – Back-to-Back Regionals; Finals Table only in all competitions

2007 – Back-to-Back Regionals; Preliminary and Finals Tables in Red at both, Finals only in Verde and Salsa (however, with 19 Verdes at Key Largo and 16 at Pinecrest, lookout for next year…)

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But enough of history.

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After the embarrassingly grotesque aberration of the previous weekend (unfortunately viewed by the entire World watching the Super Bowl), the weather was back to what you expect form South Florida in February – pretty. Additionally, the respective organizers did their customary magnificent job; result – two superb cookoffs and a great time by all!

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Chili in the Village

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On February the 11^th at Pinecrest Gardens (the former Miami Parrot Jungle, about which I never tire of quoting Marilyn Frederick's description: "the most beautiful place I've ever cooked chili"), over 30 ICS cooks turned out to do their part for "Informed Families" (our charity), as well as having fun while giving the crowd a taste of what really great chili is all about.

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Complementing the ICS cooks, there were 19 restaurants and other institutions (Baptist Hospital comes to mind), competing for "Best of Miami" as judged by the crowd that had purchased "tasting kits". In addition to adding to the festivities, this group provided an abundance of chili to the crowd, while ICS cooks worked on theirs - a win-win situation all around.

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Now for the winners:

Booth/Showmanship

3^rd South of the Border – Richard Chauvin (otherwise known as the "I" in ICS)

2^nd Hellfire – Cathy Carpenter

1^st Colorado Cowboy Chili – Chris Everhardt (for the umpteenth time)

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Salsa

5^th Richard Chauvin

4^th Christine Johnson

3^rd Bob Kyle

2^nd Mick Joplin

1^st Tim McAfee - will represent Chili in the Village at the 2007 WCCC

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Chili Verde

5^th Wes Carlson

4^th Bob Kyle

3^rd Scott Navaroli

2^nd Gail Kyle

1^st Richard Chauvin - Will represent Chili in the Village at the 2007 WCCC

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Traditional Red Chili

Finals Table:

Mick Joplin, Doug Roy, Bob Hall, David Lorenz, Billie Hamilton, Scott Navaroli, Richard Chauvin, Ron Dahlgren, Wes Carlson, Bob Kyle

5^th Mick Joplin

4^th Richard Chauvin

3^rd Doug Roy

2^nd Dave Lorenz

1^st Bob Hall – Will represent Chili in the Village at the 2007 WCCC

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Florida Keys Chili Cookoff

On February 12^th at Rowels Marina in Key Largo (the northernmost of the beautiful Florida Keys), with many following their appearance the day before at Pinecrest Gardens, once again over 30 ICS cooks ventured forth into the fray of competition. Organized by and for the benefit of the Rotary Club, the second outstanding cookoff rounded out the back-to-back weekend of chili in South Florida.

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A great crowd showed up at the lovely waterfront location (Florida Bay side) to enjoy the festivities, listen to music, taste chili, drink adult beverages (those of legal age) and contribute to a great organization that does so much for those in need. Once again, to complement the ICS cooks, over 20 "Amateur Cooks" (the organizers' term, not mine) came out to help feed the crowd as well as be judged (by a separate panel of judges).

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Now for the winners:

Booth/Showmanship

3^rd Texas Tucson

2^nd Nach UR Mama's

1^st Colorado Cowboy Chili (that name sounds familiar…)

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Salsa

5^th Jenny Windsor

4^th Bob Kyle

3^rd Christine Johnson

2^nd Richard Chauvin

1^st Kim Swieczek – Will represent the Florida Keys Cookoff at the 2007 WCCC

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Note.

We had a hiccup when the winners were announced from the stage. Specifically, I had transcribed the names backwards and announced them as such.

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For this I take full responsibility and apologize to those affected. Fortunately, our ace scorekeeping team picked up the mistake and we were able to rectify it; however, that does not help those who were disappointed - sorry.

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Chili Verde

5^th Pam Nelson

4^th Walt Hunter (a key person responsible for the cookoff started)

3^rd Scott Navaroli

2^nd Bob Kyle

1^st "Mad Mike" Freeman Will represent the Florida Keys at the 2007 WCCC

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Traditional Red Chili

Finals Table:

Gail Kyle, Walt Hunter, Tony & Cathy Ball, Christine Johnson, Tim McAfee, Michael Freeman, Dave Lorenz, Philippe Reynaud, Doug Johnson, James Boswell, Ray Fredrick

5^th Walt Hunter

4^th Gail Kyle

3^rd James Boswell

2^nd Michael Freedman

1^st Dave Lorenz – Will represent the Florida Keys Cookoff at the 2007 WCCC

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Congratulations to all the winners and a huge thanks to all the cooks for participating and making our two cookoffs what they have become. Looking forward to seeing everybody back in 2008 – barring something totally unexpected, they will be the weekend following the Super Bowl, so mark your calendars.

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Hoping to see everybody at the 2007 WCCC,

Sergei Kowalchik

Chief Judge

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Delaware Valley Regional - Dave Lorenz

Here's another article about the Delaware Valley Regional. This really promises to be a huge event, 25K – 30K spectators.

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HARRISON TWP. Three former members of the Philadelphia Eagles football team have been named judges for the second annual Delaware Valley Regional International Chili Society Cook-Off and Festival set for April 21.

Former Eagles Irving Fryar, Mike Chalenski and Mike Mamula will judge the chili cook-off at the Gloucester County 4H Fairgrounds here.

In addition to the cook-off, the festival will feature live music, a classic car showcase, pony rides, balloon bounces, face painting and a variety of youth activities.

There will be a wing eating contest officiated by Gloucester County resident Bill "El Wingador" Simmons, former champion of WIP Radio's Wing Bowl.

Cost to attend at the gate is $15 per carload or $10 per motorcycle. Advance tickets are now on sale at all 13 Gloucester County locations of The Bank at the discounted rate of $10 per carload and $5 per motorcycle.

For additional information, visit www.delvalchilicookoff.com.

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