5/5/08 New England Regional Chili Cook-Off

Well, the NE Regional Cookoff in Somers CT was a rousing success. It was COLD,Cold, bloody cold, but we braved the elements and managed to do OK.

At the cooks meeting before the cookoff, we were told that there was about 60 cooks for Red Chili, and about half that for Green and salsa, so we had a large turnout. Cooks came from all over New England, and the furthest traveled from Texas.

Not sure how many spectators there were, but I would guess at least 3 or 4 thousand. I spent half my time handing out the people's choice to the crowd. People would ask you over and over what's in it, and I'd give the standard response, "Chop meat, beans, sausage, spices, tomatoes, peppers, blah blah blah. After a while I started messing around with the locals and said, muskrat, coyote, squirrel and a couple of unidentified small furry animals I hit with the Honda on the way up to Hartford.

I think one lady took me seriously. She gave me this wild look...like I just ate her daughter or something.

Did I say it was cold? Couldn't feel my hands toward the end. Thankfully no fingertips were lost or added to the people's choice chili.

Anyway, on to the results. There was a preliminary and final judging for the Salsa and the Red Chile, since there were so many cooks. Jack made the final table in Salsa and finished in the top 10. Mike also did well and had a top 10 finish in Green chili. I was able to make it to the final table in Red chili and also had a top 10 finish. This after totally re-working my recipe after I gagged the judges at last year's CT state cookoff. All in all, The Bad Bandito team held their own and did the Fairfield area proud.

A big thanks to all our well-wishers, family and friends. We'll keep you updated on any future cookoffs.
Make sure to mark your calendars for the CT State cookoff in New Haven on Sept 20th.

All the best,
Chris