CLWC Chili Cook-Off feeds club, firefighters

BY Dawn Rankins

Canyon Lake Woman’s Club members and their hungry guests ate and evaluated 15 different chili entries and seven cornbreads at the club’s Hot Autumn Nights Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off Saturday.

Club members and their guests arrived and sampled each of the chili’s and cornbreads. The many tasters in attendance not only enjoyed the different types of chilis, but they got to be the judges and were encouraged to cast their votes on who had the best chili in each of the four categories, Most Like Mom’s, Where’s the Beef? (other meats or vegetables) and Fire in the Hole!!!! (spiciest). All entries were entered in the People’s Choice category with the winner receiving a $100 Grand Prize. There were two cornbread categories: Sweet and Savory.

Donna Lovejoy announced the winners after scores were tallied. Jennifer Dain took best overall People’s Choice Award and was given the $100 Grand Prize. John Foster won first place in Fire in the Hole category, Brian Wood won Most Like Mom’s and Rose Marie won Where’s the Beef?.

Photo by Dawn Rankins

Cornbread winners were Jessie Sharpe Marcum in the Sweet category and Renee Griffiths won for most savory.

Elyse Linn was recognized as the most valuable volunteer for stepping up and filling in where needed and exceeding her role as volunteer.

The Hot Autumn Nights Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off committee all worked tirelessly to ensure the evening was a success, club president Shawna Bowen said. Committee member Samantha Gorrell commented on how nice the evening was and how much fun she had.

“The entire event ran smoothly,” Carly Davis, one of the tasters, said. “All the chilis were yummy. It was really hard to choose which one to vote on.”

At the cook off, there was a little something for everyone. When everyone wasn’t eating, they gathered around outside and enjoyed playing corn hole and also did some shopping with a couple of vendors on site.

The evening wrapped up with the Canyon Lake Fire Department coming and taking home crock pots of the leftover chili to feed its crew.

Photo by Dawn Rankins

All in all, the evening was a huge success, Donna Lovejoy, the chairwoman of the cook off committee, said. She said she was already thinking of new ideas to share with next year‘s committee and hopes to be able to serve again.

“I was very happy with the entire event,” club president Shawna said. “I thought for the club’s first members-only event of the new board, it exceeded my expectations. I’m excited for all the upcoming activities the club has planned. Thank you to the entire committee for their hard work and to the Woman’s Club for their support in making the evening one to remember.”