A losing recipe
Reporter Brendan Ahern’s vegetarian chili dish didn’t win over the judges
On Feb. 8, Brendan Ahern of The News entered the Chill-Out Chili Competition at the New Glasgow Farmers Market and, for the second year in a row, lost. Following is his take on the event: Chili. Some say it’s just thick soup, but that would make it stew. And Feb. 8, my friends, was not about stew — it was about delicious chili. Some were more delicious than others. Like mine. Admit it. You liked it. Especially all you vegetarians. Who else was offering you something that fit your dietary needs? No one. And for those of you who think that delicious chili needs hamburger to be delicious, then let me tell you something: The organizers of this event didn’t give me enough money! $25. Seriously? You know what that buys you? Carrots Red pepper Cans of diced tomatoes Cans of beans Onions Garlic You know what $25 doesn’t buy you? A winning chili. Just hope to high heaven that you’ve got a well-stocked spice rack, my friends, because if you don’t then you are going to have stew and stew is not chili. Let’s talk about garnish. My competitor at the Pictou Advocate, who is an admirable chef — so are they all admirable chefs — was named the winner in the 2020 Chill Out Competition. Heather’s chili was creamy and delicious. With the addition of sour cream, cheese and local hot sauce I’m sure that her chili was a slam dunk. I would like to congratulate her on the win ... But I can’t. This was a chili competition, not a chili, plus garnish competition. If we want to have a chili competition, then let’s have a chili competition. Not a chili plus chips, plus sour cream, plus cheese, plus hot sauce competition. How are voters supposed to judge our chili with all of these non-chili flavors getting in the way? In the future, we need to control against these palate-corrupting ingredients which disguise the flavour of the one thing that matters most: chili.