Bring up the subject of chili and you’re likely to start a debate: Should it be thick or soupy? Hot or mild? With or without beans? Arguments over which chili is "just plain best" lead to competitions to see who can whip up the best pot of red there is. But a chili cook-off is more than just a cooking contest. It’s a happening, a duel with fiery spice, an event. And in California, chili cook-offs are nearly as popular as the concoction itself.

A Spicy Mystery

No one really agrees on where this spicy dish originated, although most chili aficionados agree that it didn’t come from Mexico. Most believe it was something created during the 19th-century cattle drives when chuck wagon cooks made stews of fresh beef flavored with wild onions, garlic and chili peppers they found growing wild along the trail. Similarly, there is much disagreement on exactly what style of chili is appropriate for competition. Some competitors feel that a bowl of red -- made with only red chili peppers -- is acceptable for competition, while others feel that chili verde -- made with green chili peppers -- is just as good. One way or another, beans usually aren’t allowed in most competitions.

Community Events

Chili cook-off competitions spring up in towns all over the state from Sutter Creek (suttercreek.org) to Palm Springs (palmspringsca.gov) throughout the summer months and into the fall. Some contests, such as Riverside’s annual chili cook-off (riversidechilicookoff.com) and Silverado Days at Buena Park (silveradodays.com), connect a chili cook-off with a car show. Many others, such as Ocean Beach (oceanbeachsandiego.com), hook a chili cook-off to a festival that includes street vendors, food and entertainment. For the “Surf City Chili at the Beach” event, Huntington Beach (huntingtonbeachca.gov) closes some streets to traffic and lines them with as many as 90 vendor booths, 25 chili cooking teams and 10 salsa teams along with food booths, games and a kids corner. During the event, 25 different bands are showcased and crowds reach up to 12,000 people.

International Chili Society

The most serious events, however, are those sanctioned by the International Chili Society (chilicookoff.com). The ICS was founded in the late 1960s by the late legendary auto designer Carroll Shelby, whose “Carroll Shelby’s Original Texas Brand Chili Kit” (carrollshelbyschili.com) has been a hot seller in supermarkets for more than half a century. Unlike community events and other types of chili cook-offs, participants in ICS events pay a fee to become a member and then follow specific ICS rules. The payoffs are greater, though. Winners qualify for prize money and awards at the Palm Springs ICS World Championship Chili cook-off. And the first prize for the world’s champ is a whopping $25,000.

Best of Both Worlds

Sixteen cities across the state from Temecula (cityoftemecula.org) to San Juan Capistrano (sanjuancapistrano.org) to Big Bear Lake (cityofbigbearlake.com) host ICS Chili cook-offs. Since the self-proclaimed sole purpose of ICS is to develop and improve the preparation and appreciation of true chili, some of their sanctioned events, such as the annual cook-off in Tustin, (tustinchilicookoff.com) blend the best of both worlds. During the Tustin Street Fair, up to 50 teams compete in two categories: People’s Choice tasting and the ICS competition. There’s no entry fee for the People’s Choice cook-off, but participants must provide 20 gallons of chili for tasting. The rules say nothing, however, about how much antacid each team has to provide.

About the Author

David "Davy" Knoles is an award-winning journalist and artist. He began his career as a wartime photojournalist for the U.S. Air Force. Knoles later served as a staff writer and editor for various L.A. newspapers and magazines, including "The Beach Reporter" and "The Palos Verdes Peninsula News," winning awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the California Newspaper Advertising Executives Association.

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