2013 World's Championship Chili Cookoff - Palm Springs, California
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Our apologies for not posting sooner, but typically the fall is a very busy time for us. Now that I find myself with some unexpected time on my hands, it's as good a time as any to post an update.
We had been looking forward to this cookoff since it was announced at last year's WCCC that it would be in Palm Springs, California. Regardless of whether or not we qualified, we were going. It was, after all, Palm Springs! Tickets were bought and accommodations were made in May. Worst case scenario, we would be Uncle Rick's ladle bitches since he always qualifies, but as you know from an earlier post, I qualified in late August by winning the Maine State cookoff for red chili. I also did quite well with my salsa and verde, placing 2nd and 3rd respectively at the Joe Harvey Memorial cookoff the day prior. While this meant I didn't qualify for the World's in these two disciplines, a twist of fate whereby the winner was not able to go, allowed me, as the 2nd place contestant in salsa, to represent the Joe Harvey in place of the winner. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that Ian Mcdaid smoked the competition on both days in August and that if it were not for circumstance, he would have been in Palm Springs having the time of his life with the rest of us.
We set out for California on Saturday, October 5th with plans to spend time in San Diego & L.A. prior to making or way to Casa Del Mar in PS on Wednesday, October 9th. It was dark and chilly at 5:30am when we boarded the plane in Fredericton and as tired as we both were, it was difficult to rest as we were both wound up with excitement. We connected to San Francisco in Toronto and needed the entire 2 hour layover to clear U.S. customs. The plane was boarding as we passed through security. Not enough time to sweet talk our way into an upgrade... When we landed in San Fran, we had a 4 hour layover and decided to see some sights before our flight to PS. We took B.A.R.T. downtown and cut the line for the cable cars, without knowing there was a huge line that snaked all the way up the street. Hey! We're not from around here. Sorry.
Hey lady! No cutting!
Cable car ride. Wheeeeeeeeee
Down the hill, toward the bay
It took us a while to get downtown and to the Bay. We only had about 45 minutes before we had to head back to the airport. We had originally thought we'd have some lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, but all we had time for was a 20 minute brisk walk to see as much as we could.
It's not that far. I could have made it.
That's as close as we managed to get to the Golden Gate Bridge
We lucked out and got a cab right away. He was letting some tourist out on the corner and we jumped right in behind them. The driver was a young kid. Very friendly. An actor. He was driving a cab waiting for his big break. He was also quite the tour guide and provided commentary on just about every landmark we saw on the way back to the airport.
Our final leg to PS was uneventful and short. I sat next to a girl from Ottawa who was moving to Toronto to begin a career in education working with disadvantaged children. This was her last hurrah before getting down to what we can only imagine would be a very challenging job. For some reason, she wanted to practice her French. What the hell. I obliged. Who would have thought that out of Frisco, I'd be sitting next to a fellow Canadian, from my hometown no less, speaking French as the desert landscape of California passed below us?
When we landed in PS, we went straight to the car rental counter, where as only the 3rd people in line, it still took 45 minutes for us to get to the front of the line thanks to all the loyalty customers that got to jump the line. Now I know how it feels. Because we arrived in PS later than originally booked, we decided to spend the night rather than drive to San Diego. It was an early night. We'd already been travelling for 18 hours. We went for a quick bite at a local burger place and a drive by of Main Street Palm Springs before crashing.
The next morning we set out for San Diego. It was a bright, sunny SoCal day. Awesome! When we arrived at the hotel, we were too early for check-in so we left our bags with the concierge and headed straight to the zoo. We'd heard so much about the San Diego Zoo that it had always been somewhere we wanted to visit. We were there a good 5 hours. We walked as much as we could, but we're old and decrepit... It wasn't long before the aches & pains started yelling at us that it was time to quit. We saw so much, but there was still so much we didn't see.
One of the newest additions to the zoo (the baby panda, not Penne).
Another of the new arrivals
Someone has a thing for bears.
It was late afternoon by the time we made our way back to the hotel and got settled. We were hungry, so what to have, where to go? We were close enough to the Mexican border, so surely there would be some decent Mexican around. We found a place not far form the hotel with an awesome view. Miguel's? The food was delicious and reasonably priced. We were lucky enough to get seated on the balcony upstairs. The temperature was comfortable for sitting outdoors as we made conversation about our adventure so far.
Our view at dinner.
After dinner, we went for a little drive past the hotel to Shelter Island. Lots of marinas & hotels and absolutely gorgeous. We could get used to this place.
The next morning we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly...hills, that is... swimming pools & movie stars! Well, not exactly, but you get the picture. We headed North on the highway to L.A., but couldn't help but notice signs for the Pacific Coast Highway, so we got off the main drag and took the scenic route. Penne was losing her shit! We passed through so many of the neighbourhoods from some of her favourite shows. Orange County, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, you get the picture. When we finally arrived in Long Beach, it was time for a pit stop & a tour of the Queen Mary. Anyone who's in the know, knows that Penne is a huge Royal fan and as luck would have it, there was a display of Princess Diana's dressed on board. We weren't permitted to take pictures of the exhibit so memories will have to do.
All ahead full
That beach is long...
It was by now, late afternoon. Fearful of getting caught in L.A. traffic at rush hour, it was time to get the heck out of Dodge and find the hotel. I really don't know what the fuss is about, traffic wasn't that big of a deal, maybe because we were enjoying the scenery so much. The hotel was in Santa Monica. The whole way there we kept hearing Sheryl Crow in our heads singing 'until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard'... We got settled in no time and were by now feeling hungry, but where to go? There was an iHop in the hotel! Yessss! There aren't any iHops in New Brunswick and we do miss it from our time in Vancouver. Best - pancakes - ever, but we're in Santa Monica! iHop can wait. We'll do breakfast there in the morning, let's head to the pier. The Santa Monica Pier we've seen so many times on TMZ was now before our eyes. We walked the whole pier before deciding on having dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Kind of an odd choice considering I'm deathly allergic to shellfish, but I can do fish and chips. It was delicious. Penne had the shrimp mac n' cheese and picked out all the shrimp. The waiter looked at her kind of strangely when he came to clear the table. Regardless, she says it was very good mac n' cheese. We spent the rest of the evening strolling an outdoor mall a few blocks up from the ocean and found where Penzey's was so we could stop in when it was open and stock up on spices before heading to Palm Springs.
Mama says 'stupid is as stupid does'.
The next day was our first full day anywhere so far on the trip. We decided long ago that we'd play tourist and ride the tour bus all day. First we did a city tour followed by a tour of the stars homes. The shuttle picked us up right at the hotel and took us to the Grey Line Tours office in Santa Monica. I had time to grab us a couple coffees at a quaint shop straight out of L.A. Stories. 'I'll have a half double decaffeinated half caff...with a twist'. When I got back, it was time to board the bus. Our guide was...any guesses?...an actor waiting for his big break. First stop was downtown to the Staples Centre, City Hall and various other old buildings that meant nothing to me, but were cool to look at from purely an architectural point of view. It was good that I found it interesting, because this guy's monologue was boring and strained like that of a comedian who was bombing horribly. He kept going off topic, never finished a sentence and left us all wondering what exactly he was talking about. The only thing he did manage to string together was about what to tip him at the end of the tour. I could tell Penne wasn't impressed. Thank goodness for some recognizable landmarks to keep her interested. We stopped at what could only be described as 'Little Mexico'. A really nice Spanish square in front of a mission surrounded by dozens upon dozens of souvenir stands selling piñatas & sombreros.
City Hall...I think
The 'Hollywood' sign
La Brea Tarpits
The tarpits were the last stop before lunch at the 'Grove'. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Looks nothing like what you see on the Big Bang Theory. The Grove was wild. We only had an hour and lunch took up most of that. We'll have to spend an entire day there if we ever go back. So many shops on a pedestrian only boulevard. We were hoping to see and be seen, but it must have been a quiet day. No paps. Besides, we didn't have time and needed to head back to the bus. While waiting, Penne made a new friend and had her picture taken in front of a couple landmark (to her) signs.
He's a producer on one of her soaps
The Bold & The Beautiful Soundstage
While our tour guide was still about as informative as the Spanish PSA on T.V from the night before, the afternoon was about to get more interesting. We were headed to Beverly Hills. So many of the landmarks there would hold our interest even if he couldn't.
Beverly Hills Police H.Q.
Rodeo Drive
Guy paid $1M for this car just to park it outside his shop. It never moves. Bugatti Veyron. Fastest production car on earth gets 30 miles to a tank of gas.
The hotel from 'Pretty Woman', her favourite movie.
Sammy's place
Our camera has a great zoom lens
This was as close as our guy could get us to the sign
The end of the line for the city tour was Mann's Chinese Theatre. Needless to say, I didn't tip the driver. We could have enjoyed the sights more if we'd have rented a couple scooters and explored the city on our own. Sounds like a good idea for next time. The afternoon portion of our tour was the Tour of the Stars homes. Sounded exciting and we were quite eager to get the show on the road. Our driver was a young kid putting himself through college. He took us down Hollywood Boulevard and up into the hills. We stopped at a lookout on Mulholland overlooking the Hollywood Bowl which also afforded us a pretty good vantage point to see downtown on the horizon and some of the houses and neighbourhoods below. He took us to Justin Timberlake's house, the Playboy Mansion, Ellen Degeneres' house, Brad & Angie's place and the list goes on. People on the bus would ask where does Jennifer Anniston live or Steven Spielberg or so and so and the driver would take us there, well... he'd take us to the front gate because all these houses were surrounded by high walls and hedges. We really couldn't see anything except the odd roof or chimney, but the drive was amazing. The neighbourhoods were so lush and beautiful. He finished off by taking us back down Rodeo Drive and out onto Hollywood Boulevard again as we headed for Mann's from the opposite end of where the tour started. We saw all kinds of landmarks. I tipped the kid and was the only one to do so. I guess we got more out of it that the rest of the group.
All the other pictures in this sequence are pretty self explanatory, this one, not so much. It's the Beverly Hilton.
We made our way back to the hotel. Our afternoon tour guide was our private chauffeur and dropped us off at the door. It gave us a chance to ask him some touristy type stuff like 'are you an actor waiting for your big break?', 'have you ever eaten at Spago?', 'ever see celebrities?'. He played along and we had a great time as we drove along Santa Monica Boulevard the whole way there. We ate dinner at the iHop, watched some tube and I smoked a cigar up on the roof before we hit the hay.
The following morning was our last in L.A. Penne had scored us some tickets to a taping of Jeopardy. We had breakfast (where else?) at iHop and punched the Sony Studios address into the GPS and off we went. The show tapes on 2 days every week. There are 5 tapings per day. 3 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. We went to the morning taping. It was pretty cool to be on the set of such a well known production and we were given the low down on how it would all go down prior to the contestants and Alex Trebek taking the stage. First, there was to be absolutely no photography during the taping, the show taped in real time meaning that the show 'broke' for commercials for the same amount of time during taping as during the broadcast. During these breaks, we were told, Alex likes to speak to the audience and we should prepare some questions. People wanted to know what kind of car he drove, his favourite sports team, if he knew the answers to the questions he asked and whether or not he had any pets. Sometimes he would re-read a question or just a word if he had flubbed during the taping and it would be edited in later. Lastly, we were to remain quiet and only applaud and cheer when prompted by flashing signs and the ushers. The shows we saw taped were to air on December 30, 31 & January 1st. We made note of it and despite telling ourselves only days before the actual dates, we managed to miss all 3.
He lost. Seriously, he was a contestant and lost.
Penne breaking the rules.....
If we get caught taking this you know we get kicked out, right?
Those scores are fake....really, they are.
With the Sony studios in the rear-view mirror, it was time to hit Penzey's for last minute supplies, then the hotel to pick up our bags and finally hit the road for Palm Springs. We left L.A. just after 1pm and expected full well to be in PS by 3:30pm, we were, after all, well ahead of rush hour so should be able to make good time. Well, such was not to be the case. We hit our first traffic jam just past LAX. Surely there had to be an accident. Nope. Inexplicably, traffic started to flow in about 30 minutes and we were back to doing the speed limit for about 15 minutes only to hit gridlock again. This cycle went on for the next 3 hours as we passed through West Covina, Pomona, Claremont, Ontario, Fontana Colton, Loma Linda...My God! When are we going to ever get out of town and see some desert? Of course it didn't help that it was raining and was the first significant rainfall that the area had had in 4 months. It may as well have been snow on the ground the way everyone slowed to a crawl. Things didn't start really flowing until we hit Beaumont. After that it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. What started with the likelihood we'd arrive at the house first only to end up with us being the last to arrive. We strolled in at 5:30pm and found our housemates, Richard & Wendy Chauvin, Diane & Larry Lentz and Kit Hoff, all firmly planted at the bar with supper ready to be served - steak, salad, baked potatoes with all the fixin's and chocolate cake. Not a bad start! More on the house later.......
The next couple of days were spent gathering supplies & prepping for the WCCC. It was quite the hive of activity with everyone chopping, mixing, slicing and dicing. Palm Springs was supposed to be a vacation, but the slacking off would have to wait until the Worlds were over.
Friday October 11th was the Last Chance (to qualify for Sunday's final) and Homestyle events. Penne, Larry, Diane & Wendy all competed in the Homestyle event and Kit competed in the Last Chance event. It was a warm, beautiful sunny day. Perfect weather for a cookoff. Everyone got down to business decorating their booth, setting up stoves and organizing ingredients waiting for the go ahead to light the stoves. I was Penne's ladle jockey for the day and tried to stay out of her way as much as possible until it was time to start cooking. Once I had the stoves, utensils & coolers squared away, I went for a tour to see who else was there.
I didn't get very far before running into some of my East Coast peeps which basically monopolized what little time I had to roam around and so I made my way back to lend my assistance without having seen much. I can't complain, though. It's always a good time when you get together with the people you know and even those you don't. Nothing brings complete strangers together like cooking at the Worlds. While Penne did not win for her chili, she did make her presence known.
She now has friends in Sweden
Diane and Kit on the other hand did manage to win. Diane brought home some 3rd place hardware for her homestyle and Kit qualified for Sunday's final.
Diane makes her way to the stage
Kit congratulates one of the other Last Chance qualifiers
Saturday started off nice and early. I hadn't qualified for verde, but had qualified (by default) for salsa. Since I was not cooking that day, it was understood I would be Uncle Rick's ladle bitch. At least it gave me a place to work from to prep my salsa seeing as how salsa competitors aren't given a booth or table. Penne decided she would sleep in and join us later...after she'd lounged in the pool first. My aunt & uncle have been doing this for years, so it was best I just stay out of their way while they got things set up just they way they like. No complaints from me and off I went to find some East Coast peeps and some cigars. Salsa turn in was first up, so I was sure to head back to the booth to get stuff mixed, blended and seasoned for turn-in. After that I mostly wandered in and out for the better part of the day. The crowds were very manageable and I found that my presence was needed more to provide company and conversation than actual assistance.
I'm just minding my own business keeping aunt Wendy company when Uncle Rick shows up with this guy. I'm thinking why is he bringing this Indian over? Does he think I'm that in touch with my heritage we might have something in common? Then I'm thinking this guy looks like Uncle Bob (from the other side of the family), then I'm thinking holy crap! It's Uncle Lloyd. I haven't seen him since I was 16. He lives in Fresno and decided to come down and pay a visit. I think my dad may have hounded him into doing that. Quite the surprise to say the least. We spent the day catching up as much as we could and he got to experience the madness and the characters you find in the chili community. He stayed the whole day, came back Sunday and stopped by the house before leaving on Monday. Pretty sure he enjoyed himself, especially if you believe the stories he told.
So went much of the day, just hanging out, catching up with family and old friends, smoking cigars...I really enjoy the social aspect of these cook-offs and the day was perfect to be able to enjoy that. It was just the right mix of 'business' and fun.
Kit dishing out People's Choice chili at her friend Faye's booth
Scott Navaroli receiving his Grand Master designation for chili verde.
Final table for chili verde. The winner is one of these people. Unfortunately, Uncle Rick is not in this picture.
Jerry Buma & Vicki Tankis, a father/daughter from New England I compete with regularly on the East Coast. I've learned from each of them, whether intentional on their part or not. I'm pretty sure at least one little tidbit offered up by each of them helped me to win in Maine.
Oh yeah, this guy won. Christian Parker...Diane & Larry's son in law. He was pretty excited.
When all was said & done we headed off to the judging tent to see how we scored. I scored 3 points for my salsa by receiving one 1st place vote. All in all the comments were very good and very positive. It may not have been good enough to win at the Worlds, but it's good enough to get me qualified to come back and try again.
Sunday, the big day, was here. The Traditional Red Chili competition for all the marbles. Everyone was up early to head to the cook site. We off loaded the trucks, squared everyone's kit at their booth and then I went for a walk while Penne worked her magic on the booth. She needs to do her thing before I can do mine otherwise we just get in each other's way.
Before getting down to the business at hand, we were summoned by a familiar bellow to come and join him at his booth. Mad Mike got all of his friends together for a ceremonial shot, or not, despite what anyone may have heard in the background while Carol Hancock was being interviewed on TV...
It was yet another beautiful day and it unfolded much like the others. Feverish pitch getting set up and once the heavy lifting was done, maintaining. Just like everybody else...
Turn in time. This usually signals the end is near. Now you can relax, put your feet up, have a cigar and slowly start to dismantle your booth. Sounds pretty much like how the entire day went. Crowds were once again manageable and we had all kinds of leftover chili. I was afraid we'd run out based on previous experiences in Manchester & Charleston.
Here goes nothing.
Vicki was a hat trick winner (Salsa, Verde & Red)
So was Uncle Rick for the umpteenth time
Someone was having fun dancing to Y-M-C-A!
Waiting for the results.
Alas, it was not to be for anyone we knew. This year's winner was Bob Plager, the first back to back winner in ICS history (he won last year too). I tried to get a taste of his chili for comparison sake and despite making my way to the judging tent pretty quick, the winning chili cup was scraped clean by the time I got there. My chili scored 4 points. Not even close, but again good enough to get me back here next year and 4 points was better than some past world champions managed.
And so another WCCC is in the books. Lots of good times & lots of memories. So looking forward to next year, but right now all we want to do is kick back and enjoy the next 6 days at "Casa Del Mar".
When we knew we were coming to Palm Springs, we got together as a group of seven and rented a house for 10 days. This was to be a vacation for everyone once we were all through competing. No pictures we've seen or taken can really capture how fabulous the house was. While it was likely built in the 60's and has the typical desert architecture and look, all amenities and furniture are updated and modern.
The fire pit
Lemon tree. There was also a lime, an orange and a grapefruit tree on property.
The front entrance
Breakfast provided fresh by Mother Nature
The view over the fence
Thats me on the 12th fairway. Shot 86 that day.
No, I did not hook my ball into the yard. I stopped by to say 'hello'.
So yeah, life was pretty rough there for a while. What to do with ourselves when we weren't hard at work doing nothing. Well, for one, we could have drinks with our new friends Jack & Carol, a couple of sun seekers from Calgary. They noticed our Canadian motif at the cook-off and struck up a conversation with Penne. As luck would have it, they were golfing at the course on the other side of the fence on the same day I was. We hung the Canadian flag on the fence so they knew where we were staying. I managed to run into them on the course as our paths crossed when they were on 12 tee box & I was heading to 10. They stopped off and saw Penne as they played through. As I was finishing up and loading the clubs into the car, I heard my name being called. It was Jack. He had a card and an invitation. They were serving drinks to Canadians at their place later that day! I went home and told Penne about the invitation. We weren't sure we could make it because, despite appearances, we had 'stuff' to do. As luck would have it, we finished up our errands early and called the number on the card. Jack and Carol were so hospitable, we had drinks, cheese and crackers and fruit as we sat in their backyard and enjoyed the weather.
The pool at Jack & Carol's was just like being at a resort
They had a great view of the mountains
Carol has done some amazing landscaping
Despite the proximity of the neighbours, you couldn't see or hear them. Each house was angled in such a way to create privacy by blocking direct views into yards & windows. Very well thought out and it made for such a tranquil setting as we sipped our cocktails and watched the hummingbirds feed while we told each other 'our back stories'. Jack and Carol spend about 3 months of the year in their beautiful home away from home, taking advantage of the 2 weekly WestJet flights that fly direct from Calgary to Palm Springs - apparently many Canadians have made PS their second home, we noticed lots of stores and restaurants with signs welcoming their Northern snowbirds back to town.
What vacation would be complete without a little sight seeing? This was Palm Springs after all, home of fact and fiction of legendary proportions.
Riding up the tram
Riding in the tram
View from the top
Reminded me of the old Disney animal documentaries. I half expected to find a mountain lion sitting on one of the outcroppings.
Palm Springs
Shot this little guy without a zoom. I had to actually run away from him as he was heading for my leg and looked intent on scaling me.
'C' is for Canada, eh.
Dinner with the gang. Mmmmmmexican!
Found it.
Penne posing outside Frank's house just before the gardener turned the hose on her.
How's this for random weirdness?
Oh Lucy! You got some splainin' to do.
He's from my hometown, eh.
He's got you babe.
I don't know what I was expecting. She was wearing panties...
While we had anticipated making day trips to other CA spots, we found ourselves so enamored with the house, the pool and the desert that we actually never left Palm Springs for the 10 days! I golfed twice, Penne shopped (but never dropped!) at the outlet mall in Palm Desert. We had a delicious dinner one evening at a Thai place right on the main drag and strolled the Village Fest night market where hundreds of vendors line the streets with food, art, jewellery and crafts.
Before we knew it, Saturday arrived and it was time to head back to reality. Kit's flight was early in the morning, the rest of the crew headed to guess what!?...a chili cook-out a few hours away! - they were all leaving California on Sunday. Since our flight wasn't until after dinner we were able to enjoy the house and pool for a final few hours, before heading to town for a few last minute souvenirs for our peeps back home. A quick flight to LAX, and this time around we were able to secure the upgrade for seats at the front of the plane for a long, comfortable overnight flight back to TO and onto Freddy Beach on Sunday morning.
Time to go, can't believe it's all over. Can't wait til we do it all again next year!!!!!
And that's it folks. See you next time. Until then.....Chili out.
