ITHACA, N.Y. — For the last 25 years, the dreariness of late winter in Ithaca has given way to a singular competition as chefs from all parts of the city converge on the Commons to test their proprietary recipes against those of their adversaries.
Who has the spiciest spice? The tangiest tang? The most mysterious secret ingredients? All will be revealed at the 2024 Chili Cook-Off, held Saturday, March 2, from 12 to 4 p.m.
Overall, 26 local organizations will compete for the two titles of best meat and vegetarian chili. Competitors include local hotels and restaurants, as well as Southside Community Center, Ithaca Waldorf School and two Cornell University fraternities, among others. Cider, hot chocolate and other options will be available via other vendors at the event as well.
Downtown Mexican restaurant Bickering Twins won the meat chili category last year. Co-owner Kevin Adelman said they would be bringing back a similar recipe for this weekend’s competition featuring both ground beef and pork. Adelman said that while the recipe has had success, effective presentation is crucial too.
“It’s a winning recipe, I feel pretty confident,” Adelman said. “We put toppings on ours, and people seem to love that. […] When COVID happened, everybody simplified everything, and people stopped doing frilly things and just giving people little cups of chili with nothing on it. So we put [pickled onions, cilantro, etc.], and I feel like that’s what people notice the most.”
However, Adelman did add that Bickering Twins will be adding a vegetarian option this year in an attempt to claim the other title.They’ll be challenged there by Sharon Payne, Southside Community Center’s head chef.
This will be Payne’s second competition, after bringing home the title of best vegetarian chili at the 2022 Chili Cook-Off, which was her debut in the competition. She was coy about her recipe: basic ingredients with cornbread on the side, both for her meat and vegetarian chilis.
But there’s no use hiding the amount: Payne is making 50 gallons of chili for Saturday.
After a year off, Payne had only a few words before the competition began.
“I’ve gotta get it back,” she said of the vegetarian chili crown. To her competitors: “Good luck, that’s all I’ll say to them.”
Fresh off last year’s victory, Adelman also decided to embrace a burgeoning element of the Chili Cook-Off — trash-talking the competition, specifically who he feels most confident Bickering Twins will beat.
“Easily The Strand,” Adelman said, specifically calling out the downtown hotel restaurant. “We’ve got friends over there and we like to joke around with them. They’re always struggling to find cooks, so I don’t think they stand a chance against us.”
Upon hearing Adelman’s comments, The Strand’s Michelle Fox chose to take the high road and declined to pass on a retort. The Strand’s chef, Nick Dykes, will spend Friday preparing 30 gallons of chili, Fox said. Drawing on prior experience with other contests, Fox said they know to overestimate supply when it comes to the Chili Cook-Off.
“I think we would have won the chowder contest, but we ran out in like two hours,” Fox said. “People kept coming back for more and we had to turn them away.”
They had prepared 15 gallons of chowder for the event, Fox said.
The Strand will be serving chili based on Shakshouka, a North African breakfast staple of eggs poached in a spiced tomato sauce — and one of the restaurant’s more popular menu items. The basic ingredients will be the same, Fox said, but they will also add beans and more to the recipe before presenting it Saturday.
This year’s contest features a few newcomers, like fried chicken specialists Silo Food Truck. Silo co-owner Kate Foley said she has been attending the chili festival ever since she was an Ithaca College student in the late 1990s. A chili enthusiast herself, Foley said she has made “tons” of chili during her life.
On the other hand, Silo’s “chicken wizard” Jesse Steve, who is in charge of the food truck’s entry for the competition, will be making his first batch of chili ever. Silo’s chili will feature smoked chicken and a honey-infused cornbread base.
When asked about their competitors, Foley wasted no time issuing challenges to other local eateries as she prepared for the food truck’s Cook-Off debut.
“Definitely Bickering Twins, Jesse and I really enjoy it over there. Chili should be something they crush at, so let’s see what you got,” Foley said. “I’m holding them at a high standard. […] But bring it, I’m excited.”
Foley also mentioned Simeon’s and Lev Kitchen as two other competitors she’s looking forward to facing, largely because of how much she loves those two restaurants.
They’ll face some of the cook-off’s veteran contenders too, seasoned by years of experience.
Tim Mooney, the head chef at Moosewood and the long-time architect of their chili submissions, said he is opting for a Mexican-style chili this year, as opposed to his typical focus on the southern United States.
Moosewood’s chili this year will emphasize salsa macha, a spicy nutty sauce from the Mexican state of Veracruz, which Mooney said he is “hopelessly addicted” to. The recipe will also feature dried chili peppers, red beans and black lentils, as well as a polenta crumble — a concoction that will likely not be finalized until the wee hours of the morning on Friday or Saturday, Mooney said.
“I have my process for making that volume of chili, but I don’t have a set recipe,” Mooney said. “Especially with chili, if you bring all these flavors together and they marry, they’ll change a little bit. It’s a lot of tasting, add some salt, maybe it needs a punch so you add some spice, there’s a variety of different ways it can change while you cook.”
With Mooney as the engine, Moosewood’s vegan and vegetarian chili submissions have been a frequent presence on the winner’s stand over the last 15 years. But last year, despite entering the competition, judges never actually tried Moosewood’s chili, thus excluding the cafe’s submission from the final rankings — an honest mistake, Mooney acknowledged, but one that he will not soon forget.
While Mooney maintains that he doesn’t necessarily want bias to factor into the proceedings, he did mention his longtime friendship with one of the judges that he hoped may play a role in the results.
“I know a guy, a local dubious politician, who I may have been friends with for a long time,” Mooney said. “I’ll just say that you start a friendship with somebody expecting something in return, that’s how friendships work, you get something back always. […] So it’s really owed to me, if you think about it. I shouldn’t even have to bribe, not that I would ever consider such a thing.”
The friend of Mooney’s in question, Chili Cook-Off judge and Common Council member Ducson Nguyen, seemed open to the idea.
“I’d like to publicize that I’m fully open to graft, especially if it extends beyond the occasional free side of chickpeas,” Nguyen said.
Meanwhile, fellow judge and new Mayor Robert Cantelmo insisted his chili judgment could not be bought or bribed.
“A bold blend of flavors that helps shake off the winter chill, some creativity, and a healthy dose of spice,” Cantelmo said of what he’ll be looking for in his top chili selection. “May the best chili win!”
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