Residents of Asheboro, NC and visitors from all over enjoyed trying out the homemade chili at the First Annual Chili Cook Off.
This guy knows how to bring out the flavor. He has his hot chilis firing up the grill. Yum! Smells good and hot.
It takes a lot of time and stirring to make big pots of chili.
It did not take long for all this chili to disappear.
These young chili cooks were so personable that folks kept coming back just to say "hi."
The first ever (April 2009) Chili Cook Off in Asheboro, North Carolina was great fun. There were 20,000 to 30,000 people there who can attest to that as estimated by the police department.
Bryan Vaughan, the owner of the local Bagel Shop, came up with the idea to host the cook off. Forbes magazine had called Asheboro a dying town, and he decided to show them there's still plenty of life in this small Southern town which has been hit by the bad economy just like almost every other town in the state.
Residents of Asheboro got behind and excited about the festival, and several local businesses stepped up to sponsor the event.
The Chili Cook Off ran all day with the cooks setting up early in the morning and then the crowds rolling in around lunch time. The various chili chefs and groups handed out samples while live music on the stage had many dancing in the street which was closed off for the event.
I spent much of the afternoon at the Bagel Shop judging the chili entries along with the mayor of Asheboro, David Jarrell, Chris of Two Guys Named Chris from Rock 92, and "The Package" (the original Rhythm & Blues Comic) who wore his hot chili shirt.
Around 5 p.m. the winner of the contest was announced. Kevin Hill and Phillip Crawford had won us over, although we didn't have a clue who made the first rate chili. Turns out it was Kevin, the local butcher who owns Fresh Cuts there in Asheboro where residents can get meat cut to order as well as fresh seafood. Who would guess that the local butcher could make such a great bowl of chili? Perhaps he should sell chili in addition to meat.
There was also a Hot Head contest. They used high technology to image the heat on contestants. Two guys made it to the hottest level. Everyone thought the young guy who was sweating buckets was going to take it, but sweat cools the body down, so his levels dropped while the non-sweater was putting out the hot vibes. Someone cooled the Hot Heads down with buckets of water after the contest - whew - relief.
At the end of the night, one lucky lady won mortgage payments for a year on the raffle held throughout the day. Now. That's a grand prize for sure.
This was the first time Asheboro held the Chili Fun Day, and I hope that it will be an annual tradition. It was small town fun at its finest. People of all ages were out on a sunny day relaxing and enjoying good food and music. It was like a Southern family reunion instead of being organized to death. If a little kid got excited and jumped on the stage - no big deal. Someone snagged the kid, and the band members smiled and played on.
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