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 Bootleg Chili In the News
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Chili cookoff offers piquant fun
by Burr C. McCutcheon The Reflector
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It's a piquant passion for many; chili arouses a fervor in its devotees usually reserved for weightier concerns such as, say, sports.
The debate can be so intense that only a contest can settle the matter.
So for the 1 5th year, Fire District 11 will host a chili cookoff at Harvest Days.
Fire District 11 chief Dennis Mason expects five to 10 teams of chili iron chefs to put on a display of culinary flair, striving for recognition in at least one of three categories: Judges' Choice, People's Choice, and Showmanship.
The cookoff adheres to "international chili cooking rules," Mason said, which allows for no "contaminants" such as spaghetti noodles, tofu or beans.
Asked about the latter, Mason agreed that beans should not be considered a contaminant, and are in fact an integral ingredient in any proper chili. Oh well.
The Judges' Choice awards the first, second and third best creations, considering taste, color, aroma, texture, consistency and aftertaste, Mason said.
A distinguished, three-member panel conducts the judging blindfolded to avoid any unseemly bias, he said.
However, common cookoff observers will also be heard from, Mason said. With the purchase of a $3 tasters kit, one can sample all the meaty concoctions, and then vote for the People's Choice award.
Interestingly, the Judges' Choice and the People's Choice are usually different, Mason said.
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The tasters kit also contains a Showmanship ballot, by which the chili teams' excellence of entertaining preparation is celebrated and voted on.
Past years have seen the Bootleg Chili team, sporting a 1920s gangster theme, win the event. Mason's own team played the Flintstones cartoon characters last year, and posed as something called the "Chili Queens" another year.
Those teams who think they have the right chili stuff must register with Fire District 11 by Fri., July 20. The entry fee is $25. Call 687-2171.
The chili battle will take place right after the parade on Sat., July 21, in a parking lot across Main St. from the fairgrounds, beginning at 11 a.m. Tasting begins about noon.
All proceeds from the cookoff go to benefit the North County Community Food Bank.
Chili cookoff
A spicy creation called Bootleg Chili swept the awards at the annual Chili Cookoff.
Bootleg was the choice of the general public and the judges. It also garnered the showmanship award.
The judge's named Poncho Vila's Chili Festival as second best, while the public picked Five Alarm Chili For that honor.
The Chili Cookoff raised $540 or the food bank.
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Showmanship costars with food at Chili Cook-off
The Colombian
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The annual Fort Vancouver Chili Cook-off can always
.. ~ be counted on to heat things up. Thanks to fantastic food and flashy showmanship, the event is always a crowd favorite.
Some chefs preparations begin in the wee hours of the morning. Soon succulent smells start wafting on the breeze early in the day and, at high noon the public can begin sampling the chili and picking their favorites.
An official Fort Vancouver Days taste-test kit is required to sample the creations. Kits can be purchased at the cook-off for $2 each; they include six 2-ounce cups in which people can collect chili samples from competitors.
Of course, people are welcome to purchase multiple kits to make sure they get a chance to sample every entrants' recipe. Some chili fans purchase a number of kits so they can enjoy seconds-and thirds.
Each test kit sold includes a ballot on which consumers can indicate their favorite chili. At the end of the day, the ballots will be counted and the coveted People's Choice prize will be awarded. There will also be a Judges' Choice winner; an impartial panel of judges will conduct a blind taste-test.
Having competed in California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and elsewhere, Gerald Fischer is a veteran of the chili cook-off circuit.
Fischer's "Bootleg Chili" has garnered dozens of awards.
"At the Vancouver (event) we serve almost 700 people," Fischer said.
He's well aware it's impossible to please all palates. Some like it hot while others prefer more subtle flavoring. "We just gotta play the fence there and tweak it a little," Fischer said.
Fischer says he doesn't leave anything to chance. He uses a scale to measure ingredients and uses premium meat. "We flambe' our meat separately. It gives it a nice, nutty flavor."
Bootleg Chili's special ingredient is bourbon, Fischer said, but he does changes his recipe just slightly from time to time. |
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While what tastes good is always somewhat subjective, official judging panels are often looking at tangible elements like color, aroma and density.
The chili cook-off is a long, hard day for the chefs.
"It takes a good hour to set everything up and then you go like heck. It takes three hours to prepare," Fischer said of the day's first batch.
And cooking is not the only thing to contend with. "You need permits, a food handler's license the fire extinguisher has to meet code ... It gets pretty complicated," he said.
Though it's fun talking to the crowd and other participants, Fischer said chefs can't get too distracted and forget to monitor their pot's temperature. "You've gotta nurse it right from the start. ... If you burn your (pot's) bottom, you might as well go home."
While a chili's substance is certainly important, teams also compete for showmanship awards, which are based on creativity, originality, costuming, decorations and overall presentation.
While serving their Bootleg Chili, Fischer employs a bootleggers' motif.
He and his partner, Dale Sugden, don suits "that look more like the Blues Brothers than anything else," he said. Fischer's wife, Era May Fischer, wears a flapper dress. A 1930 Model A Ford completes the display's look.
As of late May, the following teams were confirmed for the cook-off: Bootleg Chili, 78th Fraser; Highlander; The Pepper Pals and Spirit of the West. Event organizer Karen Newport said she expects more cook-off entrants. About a dozen teams have competed in the cook-off for the past couple of years.
Teams are allowed to sell leftover chili after the competition ends at 4 p.m.
But sometimes there's nothing to sell. Fischer said his team made 13 gallons of chili last year. But at the end of the day "you couldn't put a Q-Tip in there and scrape more out."
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Let your taste buds tingle at Harvest Days
The Reflector
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Eat, eat, eat...it's Harvest Days!
Summer is too short to worry about calories during Battle Ground's food-filled summer festival.
Whether it's home-cooked, whiskey-spiked chili you crave, a hot dog on a stick, or a giant, buttery elephant ear, you'll find it at the festival.
Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce president Terri Tweedell said the food at this year's event will be out of this world.
The Harvest Days menu includes a smorgasbord of festival delicacies including Best Elephant Ears, pizza, espresso, iced coffee and Italian soda, Jamba Juice, Kettle Corn, shaved ice, deep-fried mushrooms and shrimp, egg rolls and Asian noodles, corn dogs, Albertson's chicken dinners. Battle Ground Elks Lodge Burgers and more, Meadow Glade Manor Pepsi products and more. Beer garden in business
The Beer Garden is back again this year, and will open daily at Fairgrounds Park. The garden will be open on Friday from 6 p.m. to midnight and noon to midnight on Saturday, and noon-4 p.m. on Sunday. Only those age 21 and over may participate in the Beer Garden. Proof of age is required for entry.
Vendors provide tasty tidbits for all appetites
For those craving to quench a different kind of thirst, the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church is sponsoring the Harvest Days Root Beer Float Garden in the Festival Building.
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Root Beer Garden hours are 4-10:30 p.m. Thurs., July 13, 41 0 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday, and noon-6 p.m. On Sunday.
The Chamber of Commerce will host its traditional Pancake Breakfast from 6:30-g:30 a.m. On Saturday. The Battle Ground
Lion's Club will sponsor Sunday's breakfast, which will take place from 7 a.m.-noon.
The 4-H Kitchen featuring burgers, ice cream, snow cones and other refreshments will be open for business on Friday, ,Saturday and Sunday.
Also back again is the popular favorite, the Fire District #1 Chili Cook-Off and tasting Cooking begins at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tasting will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, with judging getting underway at 4 p.m.
For $3, fairgoers can purchase taster/ballot kits for the chili contest to sample the chili and select the People's Choice winner. All proceeds from the competition will benefit the North County Community Food, Bank.
The 1999 Chili Cook-Off to: judges prize went to Bootleg Chili, prepared by three residents of Hazel Dell who now sell the chili mix in grocery stores.
Second place went to Hillbilly Chili and third place went to Safari Chili prepared by Dennis Mason and Dan Yager of Fire District #11.
Last year's People's Choice first place award went to Hillbilly Chili.
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BOOTLEG CHILI won last years top prize for the Chili Cook-Off. |
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