The lovely community of Lake Arrowhead, CA hosted its second cookoff today to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Mountain Communities. Although a little difficult to access, the venue is very nice, being adjacent to the classy and varied shops of Lake Arrowhead Village. There was an impressive turnout of public anxious to sample the chili prepared by the cooks. The turnout of cooks was a little disappointing but understandable. This close to the World's Championship, a District cookoff is a difficult event, at least here in Southern California.
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The temperature was close to 80, and an occasional breeze kept things comfortable for cooks and judges alike. A good mix of local and regular judges sampled the salsa, chili verde and traditional red chili and selected good winners to advance to the next levels of competition. Chief Judge, Steve Wright, was assisted by his lovely wife, Aggie. Karen Ray, as Chief Scorekeeper, was capably helped by her lovely assistant, Bill. Emcee was Mike "Ughlee" Austin, who handled the contests (Little Miss Chili Pepper, Little Mr. Hot Sauce and Bubblegum Blowing for both children and adults) with good humor. It was nice to see a cookoff with so much emphasis on family participation.
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Plans are to try to move this event to an earlier time next year to make the District competition more appealing to the cooks. The date most often mentioned was July 12th, which was an open weekend this year. Thanks to all who supported this cookoff. The Boys and Girls Club greatly appreciate your help.
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And the winners were:
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Salsa (9 contestants):
3rd, Nibs Waters
2nd, Sheila Beller
1st, Claudia Wheat
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Chili Verde (7 contestants):
3rd, Judy Barnes
2nd, Chris Nicoll
1st, Mary Nicoll
With Mary's father, Nibs, already qualified for Chili Verde, the whole Waters clan will be competing for chili verde at the World's Championship!
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Best Booth:
This was a "spirit" award as well as a decoration award. It was judged by the Boys and Girls Club volunteers who were helping out at the cookoff. The prize of $100 and a plaque was given to the team judged to be having the most active participation and the most fun, as well as a nicely decorated cooking area. It was very deservedly awarded to Russell and Judy Barnes, Sancho Blanco Chili, who always enhance a cookoff with their presence.
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Best First-Time Cook: Janet Welch, whose all-girl team gained the most votes among the first-time cooks. We hope we'll see Janet at some future events.
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Traditional Red Chili (11 entries):
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5th, Gene Wheat
4th, Irene Menchaca
3rd, Mike Stewart (see ya at Mentone, Mike)
2nd, Sheila Beller
1st, Red Brecke, after a dry spell of nearly two years!
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Congratulations to all. See ya down the chili trail.
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Tony Dalbis
by Ben Hunt
Long time chili judge, Tony Dalbis, is facing removal of his left kidney on 8-31. He has a malignant tumor.
He would appreciate his chili friends offering a prayer, or two, on his behalf.
I have known Tony for over thirty years and he has never been a quitter. He needs to know that we are all pulling for him in our thoughts and prayers.
I am sure emails offering support would be greatly appreciated, also.
His email is:
OVERTHEHOOD@MSN.COM
If you would like to send a card his address is:
29275 Calgary Ct, Sun City, CA 92586
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Flying to OMAHA
by Jim Maehl
A new airline with flights to Omaha from SoCal
If you have not made your flight arrangements to Omaha or suddenly finding yourself going at the last minute there is a new airline that has nonstop flights from Ontario California and San Diego. If you can book 2 weeks in advance you will find fares for less than $100 each way. This airline will give you something to eat on the flight and they also feature one dollar beers, instead of the usual five bucks. The airplanes they use are regional jets which mean they are a little smaller (EMB-145ER & EMB-135ER) but they fly as high and as fast as the bigger ones. They also have comfortable leather seat. Express Jet is the name of the airline.
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Check out their web site at: http://www.xjet.com/
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Good luck and good chili cooking, Capt. Jim Maehl
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