Judging the Great Salt Lake Chili Affair
The Great Salt Lake Chili Affair, which raises thousands of dollars for the homeless each year, is true to its name. Your ticket gives you a vast variety of different kind of chili, all made by local chefs, caterers and cooks. This past week, over 2,000 people came to the Salt Palace event to sample and vote for their favorite chili.
Before the masses of chili-lovers descended on the the Salt Palace, a group of “celebrity” and media judges got to taste-test and declare their favorites. I was one of those lucky folks, and I
took full advantage by getting a selfie with fellow judge and former NBA Jazz player Thurl Bailey. And yes, he is bending way down in order to get both of our faces into the photo.
I also appreciated that the teens and leaders from my neighborhood (LDS Haight Bench Ward’s Young Men and Young Women) donated their time busing tables and filling water glasses. Great job, guys!
After judging a few other chili contests, including this one, you go into it knowing that it’s pretty subjective. Of the 18 different chilis offered, there was something to appeal to just about every taste — the classic red-sauced meat-and-beans; the white bean chicken style; chili verde, with chunks of pork and green chiles; even vegetarian and gluten-free. Some have sinus-clearing spices; others have earthy paprika or cocoa; and some switch up the beans — red, pinto, white, black, or a combo. Others don’t have beans at all (no beans about it, you could say).
Each bowl of chili was numbered, and I tried NOT to remember which number matched which restaurant. I didn’t want to be influenced by whose chili belonged to which chef or restaurant. Since the organizers didn’t give us any type of scoring sheet, I put all 18 samples on the tray in numerical order, and tasted each of them. Then I took a tip from fellow judge Christine Rappleye — take a taste, and any that I didn’t absolutely love were taken off the tray. That narrowed it down to just five or six, and I continued to taste and compare to come up with my favorite. I had no idea it would turn out to be Texas Roadhouse’s Texas Roadhouse Red, a medium-heat chili that I’d consider a classic for tailgating or Super Bowl parties. Alicia Gleed Green told me that this was the winner among the judges, so I guess I was in good company.
Red Iguana and Catering By Bryce also took judges’ honors, according to Green.
On my judging sheet, I was also asked to choose the “richest” and the “most comforting.” The Salt Lake City Police Department’s Oinker’s Chili was definitely the richest — full of smoky pulled pork, topped with bacon.
For the “most comforting,” I chose the Chili Mac, where chili was poured over a base of creamy mac ‘n’ cheese. After all, mac ‘n’ cheese is the quintessential comfort food. For the best “most unusual,” I would have chosen Grand America’s vegan/vegetarian Impossible Chili, with a lot of sweet bell pepper flavor. Rodizio also had an unusual chili, called Malaguetta in the Mine, featuring yucca, soy and garlic flavors.
Participants included:
Chick-fil-A
Midvale Mining Cafe
Rodizio
Salt Lake Fire Department
Salt Lake Police Department
St. Mark’s Hospital
The Aerie at Snowbird
