By Zoe Luke
The Weiser Chamber of Commerce held their first Chili Cook Off last Saturday. Regardless of the rain, the community showed up to this outside event to try the delicious chili, talk with neighbors, and be entertained.
Three out of seven of the chefs that originally signed up were competing for first place. First place consisted of: bragging rights, $150 cash, $100 in gift cards to local shops, a custom chili pepper necklace, and fresh cookies from 2 Farm Wives Bakery. Second place winner would receive $100 cash with additional gift cards, and third place received $50 cash.
The winner of the cook off was Brent Roberts. He gave excellent advice for award winning chili, ” texture, color, presentation, flavors melting together make a good chili.” This was Robert’s first time winning a contest like this. He mentioned that hearing the community compliment his chili was heartwarming, and that he’d do it again next year!
Since the event was held outside the entertainment for the evening was Weiser’s own Illustrious Onion Skin Players! They did a few gun fights and interacted with the chili tasters. It was a hit amongst the kids and grownups to see the gun fighting in action.
Sally Frye, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, was in awe of the amount of people who were there. Her focus is on bringing value to the community through events that bring as many people together as possible. Frye said “having so many people there and tasting the contestant’s chili” was her favorite part of the cook off.
The Chili Cook Off was a massive success because of Weiser’s incredible people.
