Duane Hicks
Whether it was earning the praise of the public or the “critics,” the winners of this year’s “Great Canadian Chili Cook-Off” found the taste of success equally as sweet.
Or would that be spicy?
Green’s Brand Source and TD Canada Trust were the superstars at last Wednesday’s cook-off at the local Legion, which had a “Chiliwood” theme and was hosted once again by the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce.
Carla Basaraba of Green’s Brand Source was on “Cloud Nine” after being presented with the People’s Choice plaque for her “Top Gun Chili.”
“I was really thrilled—I still am,” she enthused the morning after.
Basaraba, who has participated in the chili cook-off several times before with the Fort Frances Kiwanis Club (and even helped it earn the Judges’ Choice award back in 2012), flew solo when making her chili this time.
She noted it wasn’t a family recipe passed down through the generations, or any secret ingredient, to credit for her winning edge—she just made the kind of chili that she would like to eat.
“It was a hodge-podge of a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and hoping it turns out good,” Basaraba chuckled.
“I guess I cooked it the way I want it to taste,” she added, noting some people, including possibly the judges, might prefer more “heat.”
“But to me, you’ve got to make it a basic chili and then hope that people will like it,” she reasoned.
“One lady complained last night, ‘Oh, you don’t have any toppings?’ I said, ‘This one’s so good you don’t need to put anything on it!’
“She just giggled,” Basaraba recalled.
Working in a movie analogy, Basaraba compared her chili to the F-14 Tomcat from 1986’s “Top Gun.”
“It’s nice and smooth, then all of a sudden you get a teeny bit of an afterburn,” she explained.
That combo won over the hearts—and stomachs—of local chili fans.
“We ran out by six o’clock. We had a lot of people coming back,” said Basaraba.
In fact, she found a lot of couples would go around and get the sampler platter, then after tasting all eight entries, they’d decide to go and buy big bowls of their favourites.
Meanwhile, the TD Canada Trust team of Erica Foster and Ana Sousa was pleased as punch to wrangle Judges’ Choice honours.
Foster, the manager of customer service at TD Canada Trust here, said the feeling was “amazing.”
“We worked really hard and had lots of fun making the chili, so winning was the cherry on top,” she enthused.
Foster said she and Sousa combined about three recipes to get the just the right chili they wanted to fit the “Blazing Saddles” theme.
When asked what gave them the winning edge, Foster replied, “A mix of hickory, heat, sweets, and TD pride.”
Other teams serving up chili at last Wednesday’s cook-off included:
•Community Living Fort Frances and District (“Inclusive Chili”);
•Flint House (“Flint Fire House Steak Chili”);
•Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre (“GHAC Production Crew” Chili);
•M&M Food Market (“Forrest Gump’s Life Is Like A Bowl of Chili”),
•New Gold/Emo Inn (“Some Like It Hot” Chili); and
•United Native Friendship Centre (“Boulevard Chili”).
Organizers, meanwhile, were thrilled with the turnout.
“It went fantastic—absolutely fantastic,” enthused Chamber executive director Jennifer Soderholm.
“By about 6:30 p.m., we were closing it down because we had basically sold out of a majority of the chili,” she noted.
“It was incredible.”
The Chamber is estimating about 200 people of all ages came out for the annual event.
One change this year was that the cook-off was held in the late afternoon/early evening as opposed to lunchtime.
This was to better cater those who otherwise couldn’t make it in previous years due to their work schedule.
“We saw a lot of families coming through, which was really nice,” Soderholm remarked.
“We actually had kids coming on their own for supper.
“People stayed longer,” she added. “They sat and enjoyed themselves, talked, participated in the cake roulette.
“It was just a really nice atmosphere, which was good.
“A lot of people came through and bought the sample platters, and then went back up and bought bowls,” agreed Soderholm.
“It was fantastic.”
In addition to the People’s Choice ballots filled out by those who bought a sampler platter, a panel of judges was called upon to score the various entries.
This year’s judges included Carl Scott (Carl’s Eatery & Pizzery), Gavin Payne (Fort Frances Fire and Rescue Service), and Duane Hicks (Fort Frances Times).
The event also featured a cake roulette fundraiser for the Robert Moore School breakfast program, which saw all of their baked goodies go.
