Chili cookoff

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A chili cookoff is a social event, similar to a barbecue, in which competitors prepare their own particular recipe for chili con carne and submit it for taste testing. A cookoff may be an informal gathering with the simple goal of sharing recipes and enjoying food, or it may be a large-scale event with an official panel of judges and substantial prizes for winners.

The International Chili Society (ICS) organizes chili cookoffs as fundraisers. Its annual cookoffs are on a grand scale, with regional qualifying events around the world attracting tens of thousands of participants and a "World Championship" cookoff held in October. The ICS has raised millions of dollars for charity[1] while still awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars to winners.

As early as 1970, many communities have hosted non-ICS cookoffs, leading to a competing "World Championship" cookoff in Terlingua, Texas.

Notable cookoffs include:

• the Chilympiad in San Marcos, Texas (for men only)
• the Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned cookoff in Luckenbach, Texas
• the Chili Appreciation Society International in Terlingua, Texas
• the Frank X. Tolbert/Wick Fowler World Chili Championships in Terlingua, Texas

[edit] External links

• International Chili Society, a major cookoff organizer