We're famous!

While we were preparing the People's Choice giveaway chili last week at the Chilly Chili Stroll competition in North Conway a very nice gentleman, Dennis Coughlin, from the local newspaper stopped by for a chat and picture.  He said to check in on Thursday with the online version of the "Mountain Ear" and head to the "Out and About" section for his coverage of the cookoff.

Sure enough, yesterday - there we were, in the top right hand corner.  Our first press!!

 

We also got a nice shout out from Dick's Chili World as being the "International" in the ICS competition.  Here's the link:

http://dickschiliworld.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/monday-mar-04-2013/

We are starting to prepare for the next cookoff in May in Connecticut and may just have recruited a new member for our team!  My brother Philip hopes to join us behind the booth and see what this chili world is all about! 

 

So until the next time......Chili out!

UPDATE:  Just saw this link on Facebook that is a You Tube video from the Chilly Chili Stroll, we are interviewed twice!!   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DAwwFhXg9A
 

 

 

Chilly Chili Stroll Cookout - North Conway, NH

It's been quite awhile since we've had anything significant to write about in the chili arena since the world championships on October.  We've both been very busy with the holidays and our day jobs, so not much time for Chili.  Michael has prepared a few practice pots of both red & green to see what tweaks need to be made and I have added a few items to our booth set up.

 

Rick and Wendy left West Virginia and headed straight to the Great Lakes Regional Cookoff in Plymouth, Michigan where Rick had been the reigning Verde champion for the last 3 years.  Obviously a lot of pressure, and more than a few cooks were set on knocking him off the top spot!  Unfortunately it was not to be this year, Rick's Verde pot was chosen in 2nd place.  Apparently that lit a fire as the next day he WON with his red!  An awesome start to a new chili year! 

 

The Chauvin team then left the cold Windsor winter for sunny Florida, and in January at the Sunshine Regional in Kissimmee Rick took the Verde title securing his qualifying entry for both red and green at the World Championships at Palm Springs in October.  Since then we have been firming up plans for accommodations in California and a deposit has been placed on a ridiculously fabulous spot: http://www.vrbo.com/330769 .  There will be 7 of us staying here for 10 days - so looking forward to it!!

 

We had thought that we were not going to get to a cookoff until the New England Regional in May, However a last minute change of plans freed up our weekend and Michael submitted his application to cook both red and green at the Chilly Chili Stroll in North Conway, New Hampshire, about a 6 hour drive from where we live.  He immediately went into action preparing test pots of both red and verde, the red he bagged to use as part of our PC giveaway but the verde was very well received by our test group guys at Skillsoft!  All comments were fabulous, although 1 did think it was a bit salty, the rest did not.  Always comes down to personal taste and preference.

 

We packed up and set out around 7:30am AST and arrived in North Conway at about 2:30 after a couple of stops for supplies and brunch.  We checked into the motel and went for a quick look around the town before checking out the outlet malls in town.  I was excited get a great pair of Rockport sandals for our upcoming trip to the Dominican and yes, I am happy to say - a new Coach purse. 

 

Back at the motel the other cooks were starting to arrive and after a quick change we met up with Mad Mike, Judi with an i, and Josh and headed off to the Wolverine Pub for dinner.  Great place and good food - the owner dropped by our table to announce that he was actually going to be one of the judges for the competition tomorrow.  With lots of prep work still needed, we were back to the motel by 8pm.  Michael had not intended to prepare salsa, however the number of cooks was low so he decided to throw his hat in the ring and got down to chopping.

 

 

Set up started at 7am so off we headed to the site, which was the parking lot at the local Chamber of Commerce who were very involved in the whole event.  We were among the first 3 or 4 cooks to arrive so picked our spot and got to unpacking and setting up.

 

With an hour to spare before the cooks meeting at 8:30 we headed off to Priscilla's diner for a delicious breakfast with Mad Mike, Josh, Judi and Scott - thanks again to Mr. Freedman for picking up the tab, most appreciated!

 

We got back to the cook site and things were in full swing with more cooks having arrived and set up.  While the cooks were meeting I went around and chatted with a few of the other sidekicks who were finishing up last minute decorating of their booths.

 

 

Before getting down to business, all of the cooks and helpers gathered at Mad Mike's booth for a toast to the day - complete with a shot of peach moonshine!  I truly wish I had a photo of this, but somehow even I was prodded into trying what I was promised tasted just like Kool-Aid!  For the first time ever, it was true!!  There was absolutely NO hint of alcohol flavor or aftertaste....maybe I have finally found my drink of choice!!  There were other options throughout the day.........

 

The fireball was not for me!  But the Jello shots were pretty yummy!

The rest of the day went by in a blur - with Michael submitting in all 3 categories, here was the official schedule:

 

7:00 Setup / Unload and move your vehicle to the parking area.
8:30 Cook’s Meeting
9:00 Start prep for verde
10:00 Light stoves for verde / start prep for red
10:45 Judges sign in
11:00 Light stoves for red / judges meeting / Gates open – PC must be ready
12:00 Salsa turn in
1:00 Verde turn in
2:00 Red turn in
4:00 PC Ends / Bring vehicles in to pack up
4:45 Winners announced at Rafferty’s restaurant.

Here are a few shots I was able to take in between passing out people's choice chili and helping out any way I could within the booth:

 

The crowds started to thin and everyone had pretty much run out of chili by 3pm, so cooks starting tearing down a little bit ahead of schedule and the next thing we knew Mike Kropp was calling all cooks to the area in front of Mad Mike's tent to announce the much anticipated results.

 

Let's just say, we had a great time and learned a lot!!!  Unfortunately there seems to be a bit of work to be done to cook with the big boys and girls!  There was some good news, Michael's salsa tied for 5th place (not bad for never having made salsa in his life).  He did receive 2 points for his red chili and got some good feedback from the judges comments.  His verde was definitely not well received, he only wishes he could have replicated the pot from last week which he knew was much better.    Not to worry, back to the stove for practice to make perfect.

 

Here's a picture of Jack Cowell who won red and the coveted entry to the World Championships:

And here are the final table results for each category:

                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks very much to Mike and Mary Alice Kropp for all they did to make this event a great day.  Super glad that the weather also co-operated - while it was slightly chilly when the sun wasn't out, it was still a really beautiful day with no rain or snow.  The crowds were great and very appreciative and the town was exciting and in full support of the Chili stroll!

 

A lot of cooks left immediately after the winners were announced as they had long drives home.  We were staying on for one more night so headed to Rafferty's for the trophy's and prizes.  The whole town had been involved in the people's choice competitions and a local hotel won it.  A nine year old girl who wasn't at the bar won the silly hat contest, so they called her mom during the announcements to let her know!

 

We went for a quiet bite at a local Chinese place (China Chef) which was yummy, then an early night and early morning checkout.  Got home around 3:30, tired and ready to relax.

 

There are a few more chances before the big event in October - likely the New England Regional in Connecticut in May and the Wells, Maine cookoff in August.  So until then...

Chili out.