I invited my brother Philip to join us this weekend, so have asked him to be our first " Guest Blogger"
to give you all a break from my ramblings! So, without further ado, here is his commentary:
 |
| Philip and Penne |
So a few months ago my sister says to me “You know
you should come with us on one of the chili cookoffs. You'd really enjoy it. The
people there are your type of people and you'd fit right in.”
Now you have to understand that my sister tends to
mock me, a lot. So that comment did not encourage me to want to tag along. But
eventually Michael (A.K.A Big Mikey chili chef extrordinaire) said that most of
the people there are hard working down to earth types, that enjoy good company,
great food and the occasional drink now and then. They are also very competitive
but very good natured about it. I inquired about how many people would be there
and big sis told me that about 60 cooks would be competing. She gave me the
dates and I figured why not, and booked my vacation.
Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a fan of crowds. I avoid them at all costs. I suppose the fault really is mine for not asking more questions, or for assuming that 60 cooks would indicate a small contest. I was wrong, so very, very wrong.
Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a fan of crowds. I avoid them at all costs. I suppose the fault really is mine for not asking more questions, or for assuming that 60 cooks would indicate a small contest. I was wrong, so very, very wrong.
If you have never been to any type of food
competition before you owe it yourself to go, at least once. Just make sure you
ask how many people will be attending, not how many people will be competing.
Because the two numbers will bear absolutely no relation to each other.
Full disclosure here, nothing I write will be able
to fully describe what going to a chili cookoff is actually like. You honestly
have to see it for yourself to believe it. The sheer number people of that were
there was a little overwhelming. There number of people at this event was larger
than the population of the village I live in, by at least a factor of 2, perhaps
3. And this was just a regional event held in a small town in Connecticut!
So lets start from the beginning. We left at 7 AM
Friday morning, which was out target takeoff time, so score one for us. It was
beautiful day for a drive and Michael did all the driving leaving me to sit back
and enjoy the trip with the occasional nap thrown in. we arrived at our
destination late Friday afternoon without once having to rush. Traffic was
never an issue and Michael has an awesome truck to travel in. Back seat was all
mine and I stretched out and made the most of it.
Philip providing a "healthy" snack for the trip
Cherry blossoms in full bloom
The first hint that I may have bitten off more
than I bargained for was at the meet and greet Friday night. The organizer of
the event, Mad Mike, was cheerful, energetic and gregarious. He was in my estimation, the
perfect man for the job, the guy you want running any type of event focusing on
the public. He shook everyone's hand and treated us all like friends. He was also
highly enthusiastic about the fact that this was going to be “second only to the
world's in size.” When I asked what that meant he said that probably 10 000
people would show up. Suddenly I wasn't feeling so great about my decision to
tag along.
Mad Mike Freedman, with Michael & Philip over his shoulder
Friday night in the hotel was a little bit of prep
work for Michael, getting things ready for the next day, then early to bed for
a 6AM wakeup call. Have I mentioned I HATE early mornings? I really do. Sat dawned early and we grabbed a quick breakfast
before heading to the venue for the competition. And let me tell you, I was dead
right about the guy in charge. When we arrived we were directed to our spot, and
no less than four people were right there to help us unload all the gear and
place it right where it needed to be.
A quick word about the venue. It was being held at
a golf course and the presenters booth site was bigger than two football fields
in size. This was just the area where the tents were set up. Each tent is 10
feet by 10 feet in size and placed in rows next to each other. There were 150
tents set up. Both cooks competing and venders, selling everything from homemade
jewelry and honey, to Italian ice cream. Truly an incredible place to walk
around.
View of the venue from the road
There were three ICS events here, salsa, chili verde,
and red chili. Michael was competing in all three. Not everyone was doing this,
in fact some people were only competing in one event. However for those
competing in all three it was a busy day.
After setup, there was the cooks meeting for Michael and while he was there I helped set up the booth. Lots of decorations
went up to make the booth look great and they have won a prize in the past for
their booth decorations so even though there was no judging being done for the
booth setups, my sister worked as hard as if there was prize money on the line.
Along with decorations there was setting up the stoves and cleaning station.
This isn't just an event you go, toss some ingredients in a pot, and see what
happens next. This was a competition every bit as serious as if it was being done
in a commercial kitchen, except it's outside. This means doing everything you
would do in a kitchen, in a field next to a golf course. Not easy to pull off,
and yet these cooks did it. I, as the newbie, had to fetch hot water, which meant
lugging a 5 gallon pail of water over 200 meters so we could set up the wash
station. Luckily I only had to do this twice on the day so it wasn't too bad.
After the cooks meeting things kicked off for
real. Start time was 10am and this is where the prep from the night before
really helped out. Michael had to start making both salsa and chili verde.
Turn in for the salsa was 11:30 and for the verde
was 1pm. Along with doing all of this was also cooking up chili to pass out to
the crowds that would be attending. This is known as the people's choice. How it
works is this, when you show up to the event you pay your entry fee and you are
given a sample cup, spoon, and a puzzle piece to drop off at the chili cook
you think is the best. People go around, sample all the chili and vote with
their puzzle pieces. So having chili to give away to the public is important. So in
effect you are cooking for two competitions at the same time. Michael makes this
look easy. Just imagine if you had to cook a three course
meal for your boss, in a field, with a few thousand people wandering by asking
you random questions and you will get some small idea of what it is like to cook
in a chili cookoff.
By 11 AM the day was starting to become a bit of a
blur. Michael was in full on competition mode, as were the other cooks. My
sister is a natural at dealing with the public and easily fielding question that
come our way, the most frequent being, when will our samples be ready. The
crowds have me a little overwhelmed but Michael and Penne seems completely
oblivious to it all. I stick close to the tent trying to stay out of the way
while watching Michael work like a well oiled machine, checking his spices and
timing and asking me to keep an eye on the time so he can get everything spot
on. His calm was incredible to watch. And I have to say that not once did he
ever get upset at the stupid questions I was asking him.
Finally our sample chili was ready and we
started handing it out to people. I was finally able to contribute to the
enterprise and spent the next few hours giving away over TEN gallons of chili.
Yes you read that right. Michael cooked up over ten gallons and we gave it all
away. In little once ounce cups. I have no idea how many people I handed out a
sample too, but I will admit that it was fun!. As Michael cooked away I
schmoozed the public, handed out samples and generally tried to keep out of the
way of the cook. Not easy in a 10x10 space.
Along with being a chili cook, Michael is also a
certified judge. And after he had handed in his chili for the competition he was
pressed into service as a judge for the youth division. Talk about multitasking.
I was lucky enough to sample both his verde and his red before he passed it in
and let me tell you, if you have never had chili verde before, you owe it to
yourself to find some and try it before you die. It is indescribably good!
I'm not a huge chili fan but I do enjoy a good
bowl of traditional chili. That means NO BEANS! And this was the kind that
Michael made for the competition. The people's choice chili did have beans in it
because for some weird reason people associate chili with beans, which is just
plain wrong, but I digress. His verde scored some point and got some great
feedback from the judges. But more impressive is that when we started to give
away samples of the verde after the hand in, people were coming up to the booth
and asking for it as a sample! It was that much better than the people's choice
chili! It was all gone in no time at all.
Now while I thought Michael's verde was awesome it
is clear I am no judge. He got points for his verde but his red made it all the
way to the final table, falling just short of placing in the competition. In a field of 55 red pots, making it to the final table was a pretty big deal, considering
that this is only his third time as a competitor. He got some great feedback on his
chili and some ideas on how to tweak his recipe for the next event. More
important was the experience he gained.
For me, as a small town guy, this was a great
weekend out. Yes the crowds were intimidating, but my sister was spot on. The
people there were all people I fit right in with. They were all down to earth
people, that have a love of good food, love a great day out, and enjoy a bit of
spirited competition. They come from all walks of life and if you were to judge a few of
them by looks alone I am sure some of them would be people you wouldn't know what to say to,
which would be your loss, because one and all, they are a fantastic bunch of
people and it was true privilege and honor to have been there this weekend.
Chatting while waiting for the results
Thanks to Penne and Michael for letting me tag
along. And thanks to all of the people that were there. You made it a great
weekend.
Philip Childs
Port Williams, Nova Scotia
Canada
Thanks Philip! I think you summed up the weekend perfectly. It was great to have you along, I know Michael appreciated the help and enjoyed having someone to share a cigar and a pop with!
There are a number of cookouts in New England over the summer and fall, we plan to try and make a few more before October and the World Championships in Palm Springs roll around.
Until the next one......Chili Out!
