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Thursday, September 28, 2006
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Cooks try to outdo each other UNITED WAY CHILI COOK-OFF Staff Writer They came to reconnect with friends and sample 54 different kinds of chili.
But, most of all, they came to raise funds for the Crow Wing County United Way.
The 16th annual 2006 United Way Chili Cook-off is like a big community party each fall and Wednesday's event at the Westgate Mall was no exception, said Heidi Funk, executive director of the Crow Wing County United Way. People sampled and voted for chili from 54 different booths. Funk said all the chili was gone in an hour.
"It was great," Funk said of the chili cook-off. "I think it's a fall party. People want to connect and see each other. It's been going on for 16 years and so it has a track record of being a fun event. We had a bigger turnout than last year."
Funk said because of remodeling being done at the Westgate Mall there weren't enough electrical outlets for the booths and the United Way had to turn away about 15 booths this year. They typically have had about 70 booths. But Funk said they're working with the mall to create availability for more booths next year.
Chili cook-off winners were as follows:
Corporate: Graphic Packaging, first place; Larson Allan, second place; and Minnesota T's, third place.
Non-profit: Ski Gull, first place; PATH, second place; and Aurora Four Winds, third place.
Restaurant: Buffalo Creek, first place.
Community Choice Award: Widseth Smith Nolting.
Booth Award: CTC.
Costume Award: Bridges of Hope.
Creative Giveaway Award: Brainerd Dispatch.
The chili varied from booth to booth as area companies and organizations attempted to outdo one another this year. Ye Olde Wharf of Crosslake, which partnered with the Brainerd Lakes Area Chambers of Commerce, made seafood chili while the Brainerd Family YMCA provided a healthy vegetarian chili, along with the recipe and calorie count for chili tasters. CTC, which won the Booth Award, is the United Way Pacesetter this year and Funk said their booth was a racing pace car. Bridges of Hope, which won the costume award, created a love potion chili and volunteers dressed up like professors, said Funk.
The Brainerd Dispatch won the creative giveaway award for designing lottery tickets that had to match the winning tickets. Winning tickets contained the United Way's phone number.
"It seems every year the booths get more and more elaborate and so do the costumes. Each company realizes this is a great event. They put so much effort into their booths and decorating and the themes."
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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