16th-annual Windmill City Chili Cook Off heats up in Batavia

Batavia is set to become the chili capital of Illinois when two cook-offs hit town this weekend.

The 15th annual Illinois State Championship Chili Cook Off is Saturday and the 16th-annual Windmill City Chili Cook Off takes place Sunday at the Batavia Riverwalk, 100 S. Island Ave.

Batavians Bill and Cheryl Pierson have been running the Illinois State Championship cook-off under the Chili Appreciation Society International banner and started the Windmill City Cook Off on their own, because people are still in town from Saturday's event. The events are separate.

"It's kind of a crazy hobby," Cheryl Pierson said. "But we've met a lot of wonderful people."

Both red chili and green chile will be offered at the event. Red chili is usually made from cubed beef or chili grind (a coarse ground beef) and powder and red in color; green chile is usually made from pork, without powder, and is greenish in color.

The winner of the green chile contest will win half of the collected entry fees.

Winners from Saturday's red chili cook-off have the chance to qualify for the Terlingua International Chili Championship in Terlingua, Texas in November. Trophies will be awarded for Sunday's cook-off.

Entrants must prepare their chili the day of the event; no beef can be marinated at home. Red chili must be ready by noon and green chile by 1 p.m.

The chili must be made from scratch and have no fillers such as beans, spaghetti or hominy. It will be judged on a scale from 0 to 10.

Red chili will be judged on five criteria: aroma, consistency, red color, taste and aftertaste. Green chile will only be judged by its taste. All judges will be blindfolded.

"You don't compare (the chili) to the one you had before," Cheryl Pierson said. "You judge it on its own merit."

There will be plenty of cheese, grapes, crackers and beverages to cleanse the palate of both judges and participants.

Both events are scheduled to open at noon. The entrance fee is $3 and includes tasting.

Registration begins at 7 a.m. Entrants must be 18 and older.

The entry fee for Saturday is $25 for red chili and $10 for green chile; the registration for Sunday is $18 and there will be no green chile competition.

Proceeds from Saturday will benefit the Batavia Teen Center; Sunday's proceeds benefit the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry.

For more information, contact the Piersons at (630) 879-7934 or e-mail them at wccco@comcast.net.