It was an absolutely beautiful fall day for the Military Affairs Committee Chili Cook-Off Saturday afternoon, and teams filled Founders Square for the chance to show off their recipes.
And there was plenty of chili to try—if you were intent to try them all, there were 31 booths, and a couple had more than one chili, so it was through strong will alone that someone could try them all. Then, you could vote for your favorite overall, and the crowd favorite that garnered the most votes ended up being the Republican Party of Christian County. Best Booth Theme was claimed by the USO and The Mayor’s Choice went to the Realtor’s Association.
Military Affairs Committee Director Shannon Lane was in high spirits, thrilled with the turnout and the participation—last year’s cook-off had 18 teams, so this year’s 31 teams was a big jump. He says they host this event in an effort to bring the community together.
People could purchase cups to sample the chili, and all money raised by the event goes right back into the mission of MAC, which is to support service members and their families.
There were two competitions taking place Saturday, the chili competition and the corn bread challenge. In the cornbread challenge, third place went to George Barnett, second was won by Patriot Chevrolet and first place was claimed by Oak Grove Mayor Jackie Oliver.
Then, in the chili competition, for both prize money and the ultimate bragging rights—third place was won by Edward Jones, second was taken by Northside Church of God, first place was won by the Gateway Culinary students and the overall grand champion was Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.
