SUNDAY - Aug 3, 2007

HEARTLAND CHILI COOKOFF

On an absolutely gorgeous sunny day in the mid 80's at the Decatur Celebration street festival the Heartland Chili Cookoff attracted throngs of people sampling the chili's. The most excited guy of the day was first time winner from Decatur , George McMinn. The winners of the cookoff, who all qualify for the International Chili Society's 2008 World Championship Cookoff were as follows:

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Salsa -10 cooks

3. Mary Thomas, Clinton IL

2. Tina Kruse, Taylorville, IL

1. Paul Wessing, Farmersville

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Verde - 8 cooks

3. Helen McAuley, Springfield, IL

2. Tom Calvert, Taylorville

1. George McMinn, Decatur, IL

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Red 23 cooks

4 tie - Dearl Thomas, Clinton

3 tie - Kelly Wessing Farmersville (won tie breaker)

2. Mary Thomas

1. Tom Calvert

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Larry Eastep

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Massachusetts State Cookoff

Saturday August 2 started out nice and sunny but on the warm side. Then the clouds came and the temperature was comfortable. That made it so much nicer to deal with the hot chili being served up at the 24^th Massachusetts State Chili Cookoff. The clouds didn't keep the crowds away. There were a lot of spectators tasting the chili and enjoying the Winchendon Family Fun Day. There were things for kids to do and music all day long. A DJ ran some of the kid's activities while the great band took their breaks. The day ended early for some when the rain finally hit about 2:30, but it was OK, because most of the cooks were running out of their People's Choice chili. The only bad thing was the cooks had to put away their gear in the rain. The Kiwanis Club of Winchendon does a great job each year putting this cookoff together. It definitely is one of the favorites in the Northeast. Steve and I were assisted in the judging tent by Mike and Kathy Freedman. Bruce Cloutier, the Chairman, made sure all the cooks had everything they needed. We even have a Youth competition. These are kids under the age of 18 who want to cook their best pot under the supervision of an ICS cook. This year we had a Firehouse award, and three area firehouses participated. The best part was each of them joined the ICS and participated in the Red Chili competition also. All in all, it was a great day.

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The winners:

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People's Choice: Mike Wood and the Reading Firehouse

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Best Firehouse Chili: The Reading Firehouse

Youth Division:

3^rd – Jake Zagwin, MA

2^nd – Brian Navaroli, MA

1^st – Shannon Myers, NY

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Salsa:

5^th – Don Ouellete, NH

4^th - Darrell Dunnum, CT

3^rd – Jack Cowell, CT (lost tie for 2^nd)

2^nd - Dave Schulman, CT

1^st – Bob Myers, NY

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Chili Verde:

5^th – Mike Wood, MA (lost tie for 4^th)

4^th – Mike Kropp, NH

3^rd – Jerry Buma, MA

2^nd – Don Ouellette, NH

1^st – Mary Alice Kropp, NH Mary Alice gets her Hat Trick with this win!

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Red Chili:

3-way tie for third

5^th – Don Ouelette, NH

4^th – Lori Skinner, NH

3^rd – Dick Dowling, CT

2^nd – Judi Omerza, PA

1^st – Jack Cowell, CT

Not only was this Jack's first time qualifying for the World Championships, this was his first win after cooking for several years. Not a bad way to do it.

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Congratulations to all the winners. See you next year at the 25^th Massachusetts State Cookoff!!

Sent in by Audrey Falkowski

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Western Regional Chili Cookoff, August 2^nd

This was the 21st Annual Western Regional Chili Cookoff. It is also known as the Don Richardson Memorial Chili Cookoff, in memory of Don, who was the moving force behind convincing Jim West that a new Regional event was deserved for the San Diego area. Bill and I are proud that we were present at the organizational meeting and hope that we have contributed to the success of this great cookoff both then and over the years. Among the cooks today was Jim Jordan, who was on the original Board of Directors.

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While the cookoff has been held in various venues, for the last several years its home has been the infield of the Del Mar Racetrack. The Racetrack management is very supportive and cooperative. The racing fans are hungrily appreciative of the People's Choice chili served up by the chili contestants. Getting in to set up for cooking is no problem. Early in the morning there are no races going on, and the cooks are permitted to drive up to their cooking spots to set up, then take their vehicles back out to the parking area. After the cookoff, carts are provided to take the cooks' equipment out to their vehicles. After lots of practice, this process works very smoothly now, as it is personally coordinated by the Western Regional Chairman, Claude Covington.

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A word of praise is in order for Claude and the entire Board of Directors of this nonprofit entity. Each person has a task to make the event run well. Steve and Aggie Wright are in charge of supplies and table setup, making sure that the paper goods and condiments for the judging are all available and setting up the tables for each contest. Dennis Macklin is in charge of logistics, planning the layout of the area and directing the placement of the cooking teams, while his wife, Allene, is the Treasurer of the organization and also serves as an Assistant Scorekeeper. Red and Sachiko Brecke handle the hospitality, providing a very nice lunch for all of the judges and VIPs, which always includes a generous amount of Sachiko's wonderful handmade-on-the-spot sushi. Kathy Stewart is Chief Scorekeeper, and her husband, Mike, is general coordinator, making sure that everything works, solving last-minute problems and putting out small fires before they turn into blazes.

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This cookoff does not generate any money from the sale of tasting kits, which is a major source of revenue for many such events. As part of the contract with the Del Mar Racetrack, the tasting kits are given to the race fans free of charge. In order to raise some funds for the perpetuation of the cookoff, Sachiko Brecke has taken it upon herself to hold a raffle each year for the cooks and judges. This year she provided the majority of the items for the raffle, all handmade by herself---crocheted afghans, handsewn placemats of (what else) chili pepper fabrics and various other lovely and unique treasures. It was obvious that she had worked all year to make these articles. Claude's wife, Joyce, also contributed numerous handmade scarves and other accessories, and Jim and Eileen Beaty brought a lovely gift basket of spices, kitchen towels and tools and other good stuff. In all there were a total of 47 items available for the winning. More about this later (see next cookoff).

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The Owner and CEO of the ICS, Carol Hancock, was on hand to be a part of the festivities. Given the current problems that she is having with finding a suitable venue for the World's Championship Chili Cookoff, she is to be commended for taking the time to fit this event into her schedule. She also had family in town who had not visited in quite a while, which makes her attendance even more valuable to us who know the pressure she is under. She had no new news to share, but she remains upbeat that there will be a World's Championship in 2008, more or less on schedule. She is very appreciative of the support that she is receiving from the chiliheads.

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The day at the races was somewhat overcast and slightly breezy. San Diego's claim to a temperate climate was very believable. Of course, one of the main activities of the day was betting on the horse races (besides cooking chili, of course). Some won and some lost. Word on the street is that, in order to win, you needed to have Ken Brown or Glen Tunnero as your handicapper! As for the chili cookoff, Chief Judge is Mike Austin and Karen Ray is Assistant Scorekeeper. After a very busy, pleasant day the winners were announced at about 5:45 pm. They were:

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Salsa (22 entries):

3rd, Ellen Dyer CA

2nd, Mike Ford CA

1st, Howard Choate CA

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Chili Verde (13 entries):

3rd, Michelle Summerville from Mesa, AZ

2nd, Charlie Blosfield CA

1st, Bob Wiseman from Las Vegas, NV

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People's Choice Chili (everybody):

3rd, Matthew Tapping, a brand new ICS member!

2nd, Darlene Taylor CA

1st, Leeroy Watson from Mesa, AZ

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Traditional Red Chili (29 entries):

5th, Karl Smith CA

4th, Charlie Blosfield, the Defending Champion

3rd, Mike Ford CA

2nd, Ken Brown CA

1st, Barbara Ward from Mountain Home, ID

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Sent in by Karen Ray

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