Aug. 26, 2007 — Hundreds of local residents and visitors from near and far turned out over the weekend for the Texas Society of the Virgin Islands 23rd annual Chili Cook-off, which organizers called the biggest and best yet, featuring an expanded menu of meat and veggie dishes.
"It's unbelievable this year — we have 53 meat entries and 11 veggie, the largest showing in 23 years," said Erik Ackerman, the society's "Head Pepper."
While the cook-off — held at the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort on St. Thomas — played host to a number of regular faces, many new cooks showed up from locales such as Tortola, Water Island and Ohio. Newcomers Tina and Ron Barnes flew in from Fort Worth, Texas, to showcase their dish, which recently won first place at the chili cook-off in their hometown.
"And our first prize was an all expenses paid trip to the Virgin Islands to participate in this competition," said Tina Barnes, whose dish also earned her the top spot during this weekend's event.
Though Barnes took 1st place, local Texas Society rules state that only a V.I. competitor can go on to participate in the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) competition, held in Terlingua, Texas. Representing the territory this year will be Water Island resident Heidi Erwig, who took 2nd place in the regular chili category.
Booths scattered around the beach also had some new themes, with representatives from various organizations dressing up as pirates, Bureau of Corrections officers and even cows. Wall-to-wall tents were spread out on every inch of available space, leaving just enough room for event-goers to stop in and pick up a sample or two.
Though it seemed as if most residents were trying to hit as many booths as possible, a few also made repeat trips to their favorite vendors.
Long-time chili cook Teri Pearsall, for example, built up a reputation early in the day for having one of the best vegetarian dishes in the competition, mixing in such things as garbanzo beans and black-eyed peas into a thick salsa-like sauce.
"People keep coming up to me and saying they liked my veggie dish best," she said. Though her veggie pot did not win a prize, Pearsall's meat dish placed sixth in the regular chili category.
"Can you believe it?" she asked. "And this is the first year I've ever cooked meat."
Settling in after about an hour or two, other meat cooks also vied for the crowd's attention, advertising pots filled with everything from tofu to lobster.
A newcomer to the competition, Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone, who has taken over for former Sen. Lorraine L. Berry, said his meat dish should have been a top contender — since Berry's cook, Dennis "Tex" Murphy, was at the stove.
Malone said the draw of the event, however, was the chance to give more money to local charity organizations whose piggy banks could benefit from some supplemental funding.
All proceeds from this year's cook-off will go toward Queen Louise Home for the Aged, the local chapter of the American Red Cross, V.I. Alliance for the Mentally Ill, St. Thomas Rescue, V.I. Institute of Performing Arts and Dial-A-Ride. Though Ackerman said the collection goal for this year is $20,000, he also added that the society's aim, in moving forward, is to continue writing "bigger and bigger checks" to the selected organizations.
This year's major sponsors include Bolongo Bay; Coors Light and Evian Water, distributed by Bellows International; Merchant's Market; American Airlines; Fortress Self Storage; Certified Angus Beef; Innovative Communications; and The Buzz.
2007 Winners
Showmanship — teams with less than 10 members:
1st Place: Garden of Eden, Theresa Morey
2nd Place: Mexicalli Chili, Grant Aeschilman
3rd Place: Saloonatic Chili, Dax Baren
Showmanship — teams with 10 or more members:
1st Place: Betsy's Bar
2nd Place: Heidi's Water Island Jail House
3rd Place: The Red Hat Society
Regular Chili Category (Meat):
1st Place: Tina Barnes, Euless, Texas
2nd Place: Heidi Erwig, Water Island
3rd Place: Nora Chapman, St. Thomas
Vegetarian Chili Category:
1st Place: Ben Curtis, Fox Fire Sprinklers, St. Thomas
2nd Place: Donald Pomerantz, St. Thomas
3rd Place: Cory Baker, St. Thomas
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