Chili cook-off to honor Perme
Organizers of the 16th annual Tom Daniel Holiday Chili Cookoff have chosen television personality Ned Perme to serve as the event’s honorary chairman, the Downtown Association of Hot Springs announced last week.
The cook-off will take place in the Exchange Street Parking Plaza beginning at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 19. Admission is $5 and allows attendees to sample the entries featuring traditional and nontraditional chili and vote for their favorite entry and the People’s Choice winner.
Perme, a meteorologist with KATV Channel 7 in Little Rock, will also serve as a celebrity judge alongside Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Rex Nelson.
“(Perme) has done so much for the association and he’s a part of the association — he’s like family — so he’ll be the first-ever chairman of the holiday cook-off,” said Benny Baker, association president. “And Rex is well-known — he’s an ambassador of downtown Hot Springs and he’s a foodie, so that’s just a great combination right there.”
The popular event serves as the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday season in downtown Hot Springs. As always, Perme will be the one to flip the switch that lights the downtown Christmas decorations immediately following the cook-off at dusk. The event was named in honor of the late Tom Daniel, a local business owner and community advocate.
“For the past 15 years, meteorologist Ned Perme has served as the event emcee and helped to turn on the holiday lights in historic downtown,” event organizer Suzanne Tucker said in a news release. “As a friend to both Tom Daniel and the Downtown Association of Hot Springs, we are excited to honor Ned’s long-standing support of the event by naming him as our first honorary chair.”
Perme is set to retire later this year after 34 years as KATV’s chief meteorologist.
The association also announced on Tuesday that former KATV news anchor Gina Kurre will serve as the emcee at this year’s event.
“Gina was a co-anchor at Channel 7 with Ned a few years ago,” Baker said. “She lives in Hot Springs, her daughters attend Lakeside High School, she owns Little Rock Tours and she’s just a huge part of the community, so it’s kind of a reunion to a certain degree. So, get Gina and Ned on the air together and that should be a really fun evening, along with Rex — I’m sure Rex will get some airtime as well.”
Entries are still being accepted for the cook-off, Baker said, though spaces are limited. All competitors are required to cook 10 gallons of chili in lieu of an entry fee. Competitors may enter more than one chili but must have 10 gallons of each. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the entry not being judged. All competitors are expected to be on site by 3 p.m. and must attend the competitors meeting at 3:30 p.m.
Traditional chili is defined as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients, except for beans or other fillers, which are not allowed.
Nontraditional chili is defined as any type of chili that does not qualify as traditional, such as white, green, vegetarian chili or chili containing beans.
No garnish is allowed in judging samples.
First place winners in each category will be awarded a trophy and $200 cash and second place winners will be awarded a trophy and $100 cash. Winners of the People’s Choice Award and Best Decorated Booth Award will both be given trophies. The People’s Choice Award is determined by audience favorite.
Baker said the association expects around 2,000 people to attend the cook-off and 30-35 competitors.
Proceeds from the cook-off will go to fund the maintenance of the downtown lights and support the association. Visit http:// www.hotspringsdowntown.com to purchase tickets.