If you're new to the chili cookoff circuit and plan to attend the World's Championship Chili Cookoff this weekend, veteran chili chef Don Van Lehn of Nitro has some advice for you -- don't ask the cooks about their recipe.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If you're new to the chili cookoff circuit and plan to attend the World's Championship Chili Cookoff this weekend, veteran chili chef Don Van Lehn of Nitro has some advice for you -- don't ask the cooks about their recipe.
"You can talk about your family, sports, the weather -- just about anything else," Van Lehn said. "You just never talk about the recipe. It's one of the first rules of competition chili."
Van Lehn and 400 other red chili, chili verde and salsa cooks will compete in the International Chili Society's World's Championship this weekend at Appalachian Power Park. In its 43-year history, the world competition has never been held east of the Mississippi.
Van Lehn qualified to enter all three competitions - salsa, chili verde and red chili - an unprecedented accomplishment in state chili cookoff history. World's Championship contenders must win a sanctioned regional or state cookoff to enter final competition.
"This is my first time to qualify for all three," he said. "I think it's the first hat trick for West Virginia." According to the International Chili Society's Web site, it is. Cooks who qualify for salsa, chili verde and red chili claim a hat trick.
Four other West Virginians will compete. Kevin (chili verde and salsa) and Tonya (chili verde) Simmons of Milton, Terry Van Lehn (salsa) of Nitro and Brian Warmuth (red chili) of Wheeling will cook this weekend.
"West Virginia is a great place for cookoffs. We have some of the largest prizes," said Van Lehn, who travels to 10 to 15 competitions a year. The first place red chili winner will receive $25,000. "I think there will be a lot of interest here." Locations such as Las Vegas offer many distractions from the chili competition.
Cooks competing in Charleston will make 2-gallon batches of People's Choice chili for visitors to sample and vote for a winner, in addition to their competition chili. "We cook to bring people down to the competition," Van Lehn said.
The $5 admission ticket includes five tasting tickets. Additional tickets may be purchased for $1 each.
All ticket and gate proceeds benefit the MS Society and HospiceCare.
According to International Chili Society rules, competition entries of red chili and chili verde may not contain beans, pasta or other fillers. Cooks may include those inexpensive ingredients in the People's Choice batches, partially to beef up the servings.
The cookoff activities start at 3 p.m. Friday when hopeful contestants fire up their stoves in the Last Chance competition, which gives cooks who haven't qualified at earlier competitions one more try. Officials will announce the top 10 Last Chance winners at 7:30 p.m. They qualify to enter the World competition Sunday.
Van Lehn, 44, will compete in both the salsa and green chili competitions Saturday and the red chili Sunday. He plans to cook up his competition entries on his own, but might accept a helping hand serving his "People's Choice" batches Saturday and Sunday. His game strategy is to chop and mix the salsa ingredients first, then put together his chili verde.
Van Lehn uses the same recipes every time, tweaking them occasionally to suit perceived regional tastes. He always buys his meat from T&M Meats in Cross Lanes. His red chili recipe is secret, and although the basic recipe doesn't change, the results are different every time.
"You can make the same recipe time after time and it always turns out differently," he said. "It can even taste different on the judge's table than it does when I taste it before."
For all of his 13 years of chili cookoff competitions, Van Lehn's recipes have gained him entry to five world competitions. His goal is to become a Grand Master Chef, which is someone who has cooked in 10 world competitions.
He's seen interest in chili cookoffs grow, but would like to see more chefs enter competitions.
"It's a great time and a great hobby. Chili heads are the best people," he said. "You see a lot of the same people at competitions. We're always supportive of other cooks."
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.
In the know
Traditional Red Chili Prizes
1st: $25,000
2nd: $2,500
3rd: $1,000
4th: $700
5th: $500
Other Contests
Best Booth, Shoot-n-Holler, Miss Chili Pepper, People's Choice, Mr. Hot Sauce
Advice from chili heads
Do not ask competitors for their recipes or even about the ingredients. Even the most laid-back competitors consider the query to be a serious faux pas.
Arrive early if you want to sample. The People's Choice batches usually go quickly.
If your sample is a bit too spicy, a swig of milk will cool your mouth better than beer or water.
Don't say that the chili has a "good color" or that "it's not bad." That's a bit like saying a woman has a good personality.
Fun fact
What U.S. city has three times as many chili parlors as McDonald's restaurants?
Cincinnati, Ohio
Source: "The Ultimate Chili Cookbook"
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If you're new to the chili cookoff circuit and plan to attend the World's Championship Chili Cookoff this weekend, veteran chili chef Don Van Lehn of Nitro has some advice for you -- don't ask the cooks about their recipe.
"You can talk about your family, sports, the weather -- just about anything else," Van Lehn said. "You just never talk about the recipe. It's one of the first rules of competition chili."
Van Lehn and 400 other red chili, chili verde and salsa cooks will compete in the International Chili Society's World's Championship this weekend at Appalachian Power Park. In its 43-year history, the world competition has never been held east of the Mississippi.
Van Lehn qualified to enter all three competitions - salsa, chili verde and red chili - an unprecedented accomplishment in state chili cookoff history. World's Championship contenders must win a sanctioned regional or state cookoff to enter final competition.
"This is my first time to qualify for all three," he said. "I think it's the first hat trick for West Virginia." According to the International Chili Society's Web site, it is. Cooks who qualify for salsa, chili verde and red chili claim a hat trick.
Four other West Virginians will compete. Kevin (chili verde and salsa) and Tonya (chili verde) Simmons of Milton, Terry Van Lehn (salsa) of Nitro and Brian Warmuth (red chili) of Wheeling will cook this weekend.
"West Virginia is a great place for cookoffs. We have some of the largest prizes," said Van Lehn, who travels to 10 to 15 competitions a year. The first place red chili winner will receive $25,000. "I think there will be a lot of interest here." Locations such as Las Vegas offer many distractions from the chili competition.
Cooks competing in Charleston will make 2-gallon batches of People's Choice chili for visitors to sample and vote for a winner, in addition to their competition chili. "We cook to bring people down to the competition," Van Lehn said.
The $5 admission ticket includes five tasting tickets. Additional tickets may be purchased for $1 each.
All ticket and gate proceeds benefit the MS Society and HospiceCare.
According to International Chili Society rules, competition entries of red chili and chili verde may not contain beans, pasta or other fillers. Cooks may include those inexpensive ingredients in the People's Choice batches, partially to beef up the servings.
The cookoff activities start at 3 p.m. Friday when hopeful contestants fire up their stoves in the Last Chance competition, which gives cooks who haven't qualified at earlier competitions one more try. Officials will announce the top 10 Last Chance winners at 7:30 p.m. They qualify to enter the World competition Sunday.
Van Lehn, 44, will compete in both the salsa and green chili competitions Saturday and the red chili Sunday. He plans to cook up his competition entries on his own, but might accept a helping hand serving his "People's Choice" batches Saturday and Sunday. His game strategy is to chop and mix the salsa ingredients first, then put together his chili verde.
Van Lehn uses the same recipes every time, tweaking them occasionally to suit perceived regional tastes. He always buys his meat from T&M Meats in Cross Lanes. His red chili recipe is secret, and although the basic recipe doesn't change, the results are different every time.
"You can make the same recipe time after time and it always turns out differently," he said. "It can even taste different on the judge's table than it does when I taste it before."
For all of his 13 years of chili cookoff competitions, Van Lehn's recipes have gained him entry to five world competitions. His goal is to become a Grand Master Chef, which is someone who has cooked in 10 world competitions.
He's seen interest in chili cookoffs grow, but would like to see more chefs enter competitions.
"It's a great time and a great hobby. Chili heads are the best people," he said. "You see a lot of the same people at competitions. We're always supportive of other cooks."
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.
In the know
Traditional Red Chili Prizes
1st: $25,000
2nd: $2,500
3rd: $1,000
4th: $700
5th: $500
Other Contests
Best Booth, Shoot-n-Holler, Miss Chili Pepper, People's Choice, Mr. Hot Sauce
Advice from chili heads
Do not ask competitors for their recipes or even about the ingredients. Even the most laid-back competitors consider the query to be a serious faux pas.
Arrive early if you want to sample. The People's Choice batches usually go quickly.
If your sample is a bit too spicy, a swig of milk will cool your mouth better than beer or water.
Don't say that the chili has a "good color" or that "it's not bad." That's a bit like saying a woman has a good personality.
Fun fact
What U.S. city has three times as many chili parlors as McDonald's restaurants?
Cincinnati, Ohio
Source: "The Ultimate Chili Cookbook"
Who's chili?
Match the celebrity to the secret chili ingredient
1. Uses drained pinto beans, ground turkey and chicken broth.
2. Opts for kidney beans and beer.
3. Add drained red kidney beans and V-8 juice.
4. Prefers drained dark red kidney beans, ground pork, beef cubes, chicken broth and Mexican-style corn.
A. Lou Holtz, football coach
B. Brett Favre, NFL football player
C. Robert Wagner, actor
D. Vanna White, TV game show hostess
Source: www.bushbeans.com
Answers: 1D, 2B, 3A, 4C
Schedule of events
Friday
3 to 9:30 p.m.: Public event hours
3 p.m.: Last Chance cooks - start your fires
3 p.m.: Best booth decoration and showmanship judging begins
5 p.m.: People's Choice Chili Sampling begins (No samples before 5 p.m.)
6 p.m.: Last Chance chili judging
7:30 p.m.: Last Chance winners announced
Saturday
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Public event hours
11:30 a.m.: Salsa judging
Noon: Chili verde competition
12:30 p.m.: Best booth decoration and showmanship judging
1 p.m.: People's Choice chili sampling begins (No samples before 1 p.m.)
3 p.m.: Chili verde judging
4 p.m.: Salsa winners announced
5 p.m.: Chili verde winners announced
Sunday
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Public event hours
10:30 a.m.: Opening ceremony - national anthem
11 a.m.: Traditional red chili competition
12:30 p.m.: Best booth decoration and showmanship judging
1 p.m.: People's Choice chili sampling begins (No samples before 1 p.m.)
2 p.m.: Traditional red chili judging
2 p.m.: Miss Chili Pepper Contest
3 p.m.: Mr. Hot Sauce Contest
3:45 p.m.: Shoot-N-Holler Contest (Winner by spectator applause)
4:30 p.m.: Miss Chili Pepper, Mr. Hot Sauce, best booth and showmanship winners announced
5 p.m.: Traditional red chili winners announced
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