Goodness gracious, great balls of chili (with cornbread). Pepperluma was on fire this smokin' late April Sunday afternoon with a smash-hit , record-breaking crowd of 1,500 revelers at the 11th annual outrageous Cinnabar Theater fundraiser, the one and only Great Petaluma Chili Cook Off.
And the Grand First Prize winner was: Bob's Chili. Who is Bob, you may well ask? I said the same thing. Could Bob have been some secret underground organization that snuck in under the radar to make off with the trophy? No, actually. Bob is "just a guy," said the unassuming, pleasant young fella on Bob's Chili stand. "We're just ordinary guy's," he said. Well, clearly not, as this win was a unanimous decision by the Chili Judges and Bob could well be finding himself in big demand at future Petaluma chili-cook-offs and tailgate parties. Don't you love it when the underdog wins?
Let me tell you, this was a BIG deal. Missing out on my traditional bi-annual meanderings on the trail of vintage treasures at the downtown Antiques Fair for the rare and first-time honor of a sizzling stint as one of the judges of the mind and taste-bud-boggling myriad of Chili dishes concocted down at Herzog Hall in the Fairgrounds.
It's all down to the seasoning, consistency, choice and balance of ingredients, plus quality and cut of meat. You'd think that if you'd tasted one bowl of chili you'd tasted them all, but this was definitely not the case here in Petaluma today.
For the standard and variety of some 30 plus entrants in the chili cook-off had the judges perspiring politely and gasping for a fresh bottle of ice cold IPA in order to make it through the next round of ravishing chili offerings from firefighting contenders, local restaurants, caterers, organizations and ordinary home chili makers much like you and I!
What I deduced from this fascinating experience in a judge's coveted chili hot-seat was that the overall presentation was just as important as the aroma, spice and aftertaste. From a hopeful splodge of average-joe the rather more cheerful colors of a pepper-infused platter of homespun chili, there are clearly many ways to make a mouth water with this all-time popular American dish.
Chili Cook-off diva Laura Sunday is a genius in her fundraising prowess. What a way to heat up the coffers for our favorite local theater programs! Laura was looking mighty fine in her cheeky- chili -inspired outfit.
Lapping up fresh salsa and beer tastings galore, a record crowd will likely send this popular event packing to an even bigger venue next year.
For details of winning entrants in multiple categories, please see the chili festival web page here.
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