Tuesday cook-off includes at least 1 good judge
The chili’s on with the second annual Sedona Area Veterans Community & Outreach Chili Cook-Off and Nonprofit Open House on Tuesday, May 5, at 5 p.m. at the Sedona Elks Lodge at 110 Airport Road.
This free event will feature trivia, door prizes and cornbread alongside the main attraction, the chili.
“We’ve got a couple nonprofits serving up some bowls such as The Sedona Community Food Bank, Project Fill the Need, the Sedona Community Center,” SAVCO President Jack Ross said.
“We’ve got the Sedona Fire District and Sedona Police Department going at each other,” he said, so the Battle of the Badges has spilled over to the food realm. “We have a 7-year-old chef that has entered the competition, so he’s our youngest … So we got about 14 entrants so far. And of course, we have our great judges.”
There’s two voting blocks: The people’s choice where attendees can purchase either one vote for $5 or three for $10, and the judges’ choice from the triumvirate of Emerson Theater Collaborative President Camilla Ross, Sedona Red Rock News reporters James T. Kling and Joseph K. Giddens, and copy editor and reporter James T. Kling.
Giddens Launches Salvo
“I’m not sure how Kling ended up on this triumvirate,” Giddens said. “Case in point, I watched him heat up dinosaur chicken nuggets, and chose ketchup as his dipping sauce. In the break room I have three choices of hot sauce that are up for grabs or at the very least there’s that unclaimed jar of mustard in the breakroom fridge. … Sure he can pick up on the nuance of language but I don’t see him picking up on the nuance of a slow-cooked chili.”
“It’s a good thing that the lodge’s cash bar will be open because I foresee Kling ordering virgin White Russians at the first taste of anything hotter than ketchup,” Giddens continued.
However, the chilis at these community cook-offs tend to lean mild, so Kling may have little to fear, the NEWS noted.
“No additional comment on Kling will be forthcoming,” Giddens responded when pressed.
Kling Returns Fire
Kling replied he’s not convinced Giddens even knows what to look for.
“If ever attempting a friendly conversation with Giddens, he constantly talks of his absolute loathing for Texas in the short while he lived there,” Kling said. “While Texas has an … interesting take on chili — one I am not necessarily opposed to — Giddens may look at the bowl in disgust and prematurely label it as ‘Texas Trash.'”
Gidden’s palate cannot be so refined, Kling said, adding Giddens has spent more time at the bimonthly City Council meetings since he arrived three years ago than hours spent eating chili over his entire life.
“Blindfolded, he couldn’t tell the difference between chili and a bowl of oatmeal,” Kling said. “To him, they’re both hot and semi-liquid. Basically the same. Of course, if I were blindfolded, someone with the proper incentive may be able to get me to tell the difference. I guess we’ll have to see on Tuesday.”
The pair agreed there will be at least one honorable judge — Camilla Ross, who’s bound to have the best taste of them all.
The deadline to sign up to enter your chili is Monday, May 4. To enter, or if you have any event questions, contact Jack Ross at (860) 705-2163 or President@savco.org. For more information about SAVCO, visit savco.org.
