Judging the Chili Cook-Off

Yes, Monday was the day to judge the chili contest.  I have never judged any food before and was really looking forward to this event.  I was sure there wouldn't be anything too weird that I couldn't handle. 

 These are two of my fellow judges - a radio personality and the fire chief.  The little miss is keeping the mayor's chair warm until he arrives.  Isn't she adorable!

The contestants are ready.  The chili is hot!  Great play on words, eh?   We are set!

There are ten teams.  We are given 2 ounce samples of each.  I should have done the calculation right then and there but I showed up hungry.  The first one was 'good', the second was 'great'.  Why wouldn't it be?  It was garnished with cheddar and sour cream.  I worked my way through the remainder of the first 5 samples.

The second set of 5 had 2 that really didn't appeal to me.  Thank heaven.  Because I ate the remaining 3 - 2oz servings.  Then when it was all over, I just had to have another 2 oz of my favourite.

Now I am drinking San Pelligrino by the bottle and have this heavy feeling in my stomach with a little heartburn.  I don't eat a lot of meat and what did I eat?  About 16 ounces of various chilis.  That equals two cups!  Somehow it doesn't look like that much when you are eating it out of little 2 ounce plastic cups.  (Note to self - next time, eat before I judge food.)

 The recipes were all so different.  The Phillippine style chili was interesting in a good way.  One team used chunks of beef rather than ground meat and I really liked that, too.  Some were dry and others more saucy.

You can see that the voting ballot is easy to use!  There was a winner in both the traditional and in the creative categories.