Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer put his culinary skills on the line by issuing a chili cook-off challenge to mayors across the state. The Mayor's challenge is a new competition in the annual Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cook-Off scheduled for Sept. 26 in downtown Wichita.
"My team will be ready to cook up another big victory,' said Brewer who a year ago took home the coveted People's Choice Award at the state-sanctioned, cook-off event. "I'm confident that we'll repeat as champions."
Brewer's 2008 win inspired him to issue the Mayor's challenge and heat up the competition. Organizers came up with the Kansas Mayors Chili Bowl, a new category limited to elected officials and their respective teams across the state. Competitors may come from cities or counties. Judges are selected from across the state to ensure an unbiased competition. Stakes are high as the winning team will receive the prestigious Kansas Mayors Chili Bowl trophy, a $500 donation to a charity of choice and state boasting rights, for a year. Applicants may sign up at www.wagonmasterschili.com or www.wichita.gov (click on Mayor's Chili Cookoff Challenge.). Proceeds benefit for the Wagonmasters Scholarship Fund.
The competition isn't only for mayors. Wichita's annual chili cookoff attracts dozens of teams that chop, stir and season their way to titles, prizes and cash winnings. It includes teams that compete in five categories including two International Chili Society (ICS) sanctioned categories: Traditional (red chili) or Chili Verde (green chili). The other two non-sanctioned categories are No Beans and Anything Goes, which is open to ICS and non-ICS cooks alike. The fifth category is the People's Choice Award. Entry fee is $35 per category ($50 after September 16th). There is also a fierce competition for the best salsa, which requires a $10 entry fee and is also a qualifier for the International Chili Society Cook-Off in October.
Judging gets underway at noon along with the public sampling. The public votes for their favorite team to win the People's Choice. Judges will also hand out the coveted Grand Champion trophy and $1,000 in prize money to the team with the best-combined score of chili, booth display and team spirit.
So rustle up a few friends, dice a few ingredients and pick a chili descriptive team name such as Fire-In-The-Hole, Buzzard's Breath, Mouth-of-Hell or Flame-Blower.
For more information, please call Ann Keefer of the Wichita Downtown Development Corp. at 316-264-6005.