ST. PAUL - It was a morning of competition between businesses and organizations as 13 entrants went head-to-head at this year's Cornerstone Co-op Chili Cook-Off in St. Paul.
After judges made their way through the line-up of tables, testing each of the entrants' dishes, a new winner was crowned - the team from the Co-op Food Store.
It was a tight race between the top two chilis, noted the judges. Coming in second place was the team from CSN Black Ace.
This year's judges included Chamber of Commerce executive director Yvonne Weinmeier, Community Futures St. Paul-Smoky Lake Region general manager Penny Fox, Cornerstone Co-op board vice president Justin Anderson, and James Paull, general manager at the Landing Hotel & Conference Centre and director with the St. Paul & District Chamber of Commerce.
When it came to the winning pot of chili, it stood out in a few ways, according to the judges.
"It was the hottest of them all," said Anderson. Judges also agreed that the team put in a lot of work and effort, cooking their chili over the fire and having a fire pit on hand Thursday.
Everyone knows that "food tastes better over the fire," said Weinmeier.
As for the second place team, judges agreed that the addition of steak into the chili set them apart.
Coming in third was the team from Lakeland Family Eyecare. The chili had a lot of garlic and the team also did a great job decorating their booth, according to the judges.
One thing that judges noted as being different this year was that there was no bribing of the judges at all, said Weinmeier, with a laugh. The cook-off was strictly based on taste and quality.
As the winning teams were announced, the Co-op Food Store team - which included Eric Dupuis, grocery manager at St. Paul's Cornerstone Co-op, Daniel Podsosony, meat manager at Cornerstone Co-op, along with Elliot Ziniewicz and Lili Wagner - was clearly happy with the victory.
Dupuis said it was a month-long process to get the ingredients together, and the team's day started at about 7 a.m. on Thursday to get the fire burning.
When asked if any of the team members had any background in cooking, Dupuis noted that, "We just get really hungry."
The team's approach to making their chili was to use high quality meats and smoke everything first.
When he heard the team's chili was judged to be the hottest, Dupuis said with a laugh, "We're all spicy people."
Podsosony added that the team put their hearts into cooking their chili.
Jordyn Prior, community engagement manager with Cornerstone Co-op, summed up the 2023 chili cook-off by saying the day went really well and having 13 contestants was great. She also thanked sponsors - Black Ace for helping organize the adjacent car show, and Northern Source for providing the generator for the contestants since the cook-off takes place outdoors.
Proceeds from this year's chili cook-off will be donated to St. Paul Minor Ball. The minor ball organization was also on hand helping hand out bowls for chili and providing water.
Prior said the cook-off is a great way to get businesses and organizations together, and Cornerstone Co-op looks forward to hosting the event every year during rodeo week.
