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2013 Houston Championship Chili Cook Off
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Traders Village -7979 N. Eldridge Rd. off 290
Houston, TX 77041
Event is located in the Gray Expo area - back portion of the facility.
Set-up times:
Friday
Saturday
1– 9 p.m.
6 – 8 a.m.
Cook’s meeting:
Saturday
Begin Cooking:
Saturday
Turn-in for judging: Beans
Chili
8:30 a.m.
9 a.m.
1 p.m.
2 p.m.
Auction
Silent: 11a.m. – 2p.m.
Live: 3p.m. – 4p.m.
Awards:
Approximately 4 p.m.
All Teams will enter at the main entrance to Trader’s Village on Eldridge Road through the gate marked “Pass
Gate.” When entering, identify yourself to the committee volunteer as a member of a chili cooking team. No
parking fee will be charged from 6-9 a.m. Anyone entering after 9 a.m. or through main gate is subject to
Traders Village parking fee of $3 per vehicle.
Tasters Cups (approximately 6 oz.) will be sold to the public for tasting chili (sold in groups of 6 for $5). A
ticket will be provided with each purchase as a vote for the Peoples’ Choice awards. Teams are required to
cook 5 gallons of chili per entry for public consumption. The chili does not have to be the same recipe as the
chili cooked for judging and can be cooked prior to the day of the cook off. See rules for complete information.
As a reminder, the chili cook off is a “Family Event.” Traders Village will have beverages for sale; however,
teams may bring their own beverages to share within the team’s booth area only. In accordance with the rules
of our committee, Traders Village and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™, all alcohol provided by
teams should be kept low-key and must be consumed within your assigned booth. Ice blocks and other “shot”
devices are prohibited at Traders Village. Anyone providing these may subject the team to immediate
disqualification, ineligibility for future events and may be asked to leave the premises.
The committee will be selling ice to cooking teams ($5 for a 20 pound bag). Teams may give away nonalcoholic beverages and other items; however, are not allowed to sell any items from their booth.
All teams must check-in upon arrival. The check-in area will be to the right of the stage in the Gray Expo. This
will be the event headquarters area if you need anything throughout the event. Ice may be purchased in this
area. Chili and beans turn in will be in the marked area to the left of the stage.
Please keep in mind that this is designed to be a FUN event. We are here to raise funds for the Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo. We will have a silent auction throughout the event and live auction immediately
preceding the awards. We invite each of you to look at the auction items and bid on those items you like!
If you have any questions, please contact Donald Alyea or Jay Patterson. Donald: Alyea@sbcglobal.net or
(713) 408-8302. Jay: jtp-2@comcast.net or (832) 247-8306.
Thank you for participating and supporting the Show!
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™
Houston General Go Texan Committee
HOUSTON CHAMPIONSHIP CHILI COOK OFF
RULES
1. All contest entries must be cooked on site the day of the cook off. All food must be prepared out in the
open (no cooking in RV's, etc.). Chili must be cooked from scratch. "Scratch" is defined as starting with
raw meat. No marinating is allowed. Ingredients may be peeled, cut or chopped ahead of time and
brought onto the cook site in containers, as long as they are raw. Commercial chili powder is
permissible, but complete or commercial chili mixes, which contain several pre-measured spices, are not
permitted.
2. No fillers - No beans, macaroni, rice, hominy, or other similar items will be permitted. Give us your
best chili, using your favorite recipe!
3. Sanitation - Cooks are expected to prepare and cook foods in as sanitary a manner as possible.
a. Cooking conditions will be monitored by the judging committee and referee.
b. Only edible ingredients may be used. No illegal or hazardous materials may be used.
c. All cooks may be required, at the discretion of the referee or head judge, to eat a spoonful of
their own chili before turning it in for judging. (If the cook refuses, the entry will be
disqualified.)
4. Each entry/space entitles/requires the cook to prepare ONE chili entry. Only one judging cup,
consisting of one quart of chili per entry, may be turned in for judging.
5. Quantity - Each head cook is responsible for preparing at least 1 gallon of the chili recipe to be judged.
An additional 5 gallons of any recipe of chili must be available for public sampling. The additional chili
does not have to be the same recipe that is judged.
6. Contestants must furnish all cooking ingredients and materials. The contest will not be responsible for
furnishing electricity or any other cooking items.
7. The contest will not furnish any tables, chairs or other supplies. All supplies are the responsibility of the
contestants.
8. Taster cups will be available for sale, which the public will use for sampling chili. Six cups for $5.00
and one ticket for voting on the Peoples’ Choice award will be included with the purchase.
9. No vehicles will be allowed in contest spaces during the event. All trailers to be used within a contest
space must be approved by event officials. Trailers must fit within the designated contest space
provided.
10. Teams may unload and set up on Friday from 1:00 to 9:00 pm and/or Saturday from 6:00 to 8:00 am.
Teams are encouraged to begin setting up on Friday, as the contest area is very congested on Saturday
morning.
11. No open fires using wood, charcoal, etc. will be permitted. Cooking devices that produce excessive
smoke are prohibited.
12. Sound systems should be used in a reasonable manner. The event will have music and MC to make
announcements. Event Officials reserve the right to control volume of sound systems in the contest
area. Please be considerate of your neighbors.
13. No merchandise may be sold nor may any entry fee be charged to enter a cooking space as per Traders
Village’s regulations. Any special request must be submitted in writing to event officials along with the
entry form. Any violation may subject the team to immediate disqualification and ineligibility for future
events.
14. Alcohol provided by teams must be kept low-key and consumed within the assigned booth. Ice Blocks
and other “Shot” devices are prohibited. Anyone providing these may subject the team to immediate
disqualification, ineligibility for future events and may be asked to leave the premises.
JUDGING CRITERIA
All chili is "blind judged." No one knows the ticket number of a chili until judging is complete. Even after numbers are
revealed, only each cook team knows its number. This method ensures that every chili is judged fairly.
Head cooks will draw their judging cup and sign for it. They should remove the numbered ticket inside the cup and write
their team name on it and keep it in a safe place. Winners will be announced by this number and it must be presented to
receive their award. Any cup that is damaged before turn in can be replaced by turning in the original cup and original
ticket.
Each cup will be scored on its own merits from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest score possible. Each judge must give a
score to each cup of chili.
Chili will be judged on the following criteria:
1. AROMA - Chili should smell appetizing. A good aroma is a tip-off to good taste.
2. APPEARANCE - Chili should look good and be appealing to the eye. A smooth combination of meat and gravy
with a reddish or reddish-brown color is okay. Shades of gray, yellow, etc. are not okay. Chili should not be dry,
watery, grainy, lumpy, or greasy.
3. TASTE - Chili should taste good above all else. Chili should have a pleasant taste after swallowing. Although
individual opinions vary, a really good taste will stand out.
Other things that may be considered as part of the overall judging process can be its consistency, color, after taste, etc.
Judges are looking for a unique chili recipe, of course, but taste is very important as always!
JUDGING PROCEDURE:
Judging will be done using preliminary and final rounds. Judging tables will consist of five judges at each table. Each
preliminary judging table will provide a minimum number of entries to the final round. This number will be determined
by the total number of entries entered into the cook off. All ties in judging in the preliminary rounds will be sent to the
next round of judging. If needed, a semifinal judging round may be used. A tiebreaking panel of three judges will be
used to break ties on the final judging table, if necessary. Finals judges cannot have judged in any of the preliminary
rounds.
A cook off referee will be available to see all rules are complied with, judging is fair and balanced, and the cook off is run
properly. All decisions of the referee are final!
BASIC BEAN COOKING RULES
Only one judging cup per entry can be turned in for judging.
BEANS MUST:
Be DRY PINTO only
Be cooked on site the day of the cook off.
Be prepared from scratch.
Be prepared in as sanitary a manner as possible.
Be prepared in the open (no motor homes, closed tents, etc.)
Cooks must sign number slips in ink when they receive their judging cups and must not tamper with or mark the judging
cups they receive. The head cook is responsible for safeguarding the judging cup and matching number. (A matching
number must be presented to claim a winning bean entry.)
Cooks may soak overnight.
Cooks must be willing to taste his/her own beans.
SHOWMANSHIP
Showmanship awards will be based on booth design, decorations, originality, costumes/dress, tasteful presentation and
audience participation. Each team will automatically be entered in the Showmanship category and no additional entry fee
is required. Judging for Showmanship will be done between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.