stiffwillichili

I'll Be a Guest Judge

At the 18th Annual SAIC Chili Cookoff in Lexington Park, MD on Thursday, Nov. 18. I'll be joining a few other local foodies comprising the judges' panel for this event, which is the primary fundraiser for the company's Christmas charity drive.

I will be donating spice mix, pepper sauce, and t-shirts for raffles, and I suspect that I'll have my products for sale, but I'll post more details as they become available.

Yours Truly Mentioned in UltimateGuitar.com

I can't believe I'm a full seven months late in finding this, so I guess that means I have to be a little more proficient when it comes to googling myself.

However, back in March UltimateGuitar.com published a short piece on the 2010 DC101 Chili Cook-Off and was kind enough to note my 2009 Red Chili win at the DC101 Chili Cook-Off and subsequent People's Choice victory at the ICS World's Championship Chili Cookoff. To wit (emphasis in original):

True to its name, the Chili Cook-Off features an intense competition between 101 chili cooks in four categories: Red Chili, Green Chili, Freestyle, and Salsa. The 2009 Red Chili winner, Trevor Bothwell, went on to win the People's Choice Award at the World Championship Cook-Off in Charleston, West Virginia in October 2009. Among the celebrity judges at Chili Cook-Off 2010 will be Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley, quarterback Colt Brennan, and safety Reed Doughty, whose son received a kidney transplant in March 2008.

For a trip down memory lane, here's a photo of Chris Cooley with two of my good friends at the 2009 DC cookoff.

100 Dollars Richer

My buddy bet me $100 last weekend that I couldn't get one of our hotter competitors at the DC101 Chili Cook-Off to let me put a T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili tattoo on her ass.

He lost.

DC101 Chili Cook-Off 2010: Pregame

Here's a look at my People's Choice chili for the DC101 Chili Cook-Off this Saturday at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. We're only a half-hour in with at least another hour and a half to go.

 

Every contestant is required to provide at least one gallon of chili with beans for the crowd. So T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili is going with SIX. Attendants get to walk around the venue tasting all types of chili for a modest donation to the National Kidney Foundation, and if the last two cookoffs are any indication, ours will last all of about an hour.

This is the recipe that won People's Choice at the World's Championship Chili Cookoff last October in West Virginia, so if you'd like the recipe it's available here at my website. Of course, you should all have it already because it's also on the back of my spice mix bottle!

TLC - Ultimate Chili Challenge Airs Tonight!

Tune in to TLC (The Learning Channel) tonight (5/3) at 10:00 PM to watch the Ultimate Chili Challenge, a broadcast of the ICS World's Championship Chili Cookoff last October in Charleston, WV. T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili won People's Choice (Red Chili), so there's a good chance you'll catch us on tape.

We were easily the most popular team at the event so I'll be looking forward to seeing just how much footage we got. Ironically, I have this nagging feeling that we won't even get any airtime at all, even though about 25 of my friends and family showed up to cheer me on. If you were there, you know it would've been impossible to miss us, so I'm interested in watching the broadcast on this front alone. But I figure you guys might be interested in checking it out too.

Check TLC's website tto see the schedule. It will re-air Tuesday afternoon 5/4/2010, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

Check out more photos from the world championship if you haven't seen them yet.

DC101 Chili Cook-Off 2010

It's that time of year again. The DC101 Chili Cook-Off will take place Saturday, May 22 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC! As readers of this blog likely know, I won this cookoof last year (see photos here) and we're looking forward to even bigger and better things this year.

Bigger than winning, you ask? Absolutely! This year I'm going with the intention of marketing and promoting T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili from morning to night. Rather than entering the International Chili Society-sanctioned event, which is the one I won last year in the prestigious ICS Red category, I will be competing in the Freestyle category. The primary difference between the two categories is that whereas you must cook your chili on-site for the ICS contest, Freestyle cooks may prepare theirs in advance.

While I admit that there may not be as much glory associated with winning the Freestyle contest, I will be much freer to talk to partygoers and promote my brand and products than I would were I confined to my tent until 2 p.m. worrying about my competition chili. Instead, this year I'll be able to just heat up my competition batch while placing much more focus on selling t-shirts and spice mix, enjoying the bands, and just plain ol' having fun with the crowd. And this year the gorgeous Stiff Willi Girls will be at the DC101 cookoff!

Perhaps best of all, this year's cookoff will feature Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains, two bands that were huge favorites of mine back in my college days, so this concert should be a blast. If you're a fan of T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili, grab a ticket for the cookoff now and come up and party with us! The t-shirts are going to be great this year and sell for only $10, and I'll even be giving away free drink tickets and other promotional items at my booth. We rocked the world championship back in October, so don't miss out on one of the best days of the summer!

Here Come da Judge

I've been asked to judge a chili cookoff this Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Solomons Island Yacht Club, so if you live in the Southern Maryland area please stop by to taste chili from local cooks. The cookoff is a benefit for a young lady who hurt her knee at the marina recently, so you'll be mixing a good cause with good fun.

The event is open to the public and I believe there's a $20 entry fee, but again, it's all for charity. The man putting this together is hoping to raise about $1000 to help the beneficiary pay some bills while she's home from work recuperating. 

Tasting begins at 2:00 p.m. and judging will take place at 5:00. I'm planning to provide some free chili in addition to having my spice mix for sale, and any money I make from T-shirt sales I'll donate to this young lady as well. Hope to see you there!

I Think We Have a New Marketing Slogan

T-REV'S STIFF WILLI CHILI: YOUR KIDS WILL EAT IT!

One thing I've found pretty interesting, and admittedly a little surprising, is that even the youngsters seem to like T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili. When I worked the Southern Maryland Oyster Festival a few weeks ago, I sold my spice mix to more than a few parents whose children devoured the free samples. The funny thing is, the heat of the spice mix isn't intended to produce five-alarm chili, but it's definitely got a good kick. Even my own son was eating my People's Choice batch at the World's Championship Chili Cookoff. Who knew?

In fact, here's a photo of "T-Rev's Lil' Chile" zonked out with chili stains all over his shirt after a long day at the Worlds. Thanks to my sister Christina for sending.

More Pics from the WCCC

As presumed, the pics they're a-tricklin' in from the ICS World's Championship Chili Cookoff, which was held a few weekends ago in Charleston, WV. If you haven't heard, T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili took first place in People's Choice Chili -- and these photos are prior to the awards ceremony, so you can only imagine how crazy things got afterward!

 
Rock out with your smock out!!

 
Can't let a little garlic prep get in the way of drinking Bloody Marys.

I guess you can get away with a hat like this when you go 6-5, 2-Fitty.

 

Thanking the wife for an afternoon of hard work.

 
And...there it is. I knew it would only be a matter of time before this one rolled in.

(sigh)
 

At the awards ceremony. Biggie Smalls loves the camera!

 

 
The paramedics at the top loved T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili. Great guys.

1st Place, yo!

 

 
The lady in yellow on the right is Diane, whom we met at a bar the night before I cooked. Diane, I know I owe you a shirt -- we moved last weekend and for the moment I've misplaced your card, so if you read this, please email me!

I really didn't want to publish these last two photos, but I had to. This is us waiting for a cab in a Burger King parking lot for over an hour in Wherethefuckarewe?!, WV after the one you see in the background was literally throwing sparks on the road trying to get us back to the hotel. Thankfully the guys closing up at BK let me walkthru the drivethru to order cheeseburgers.

 
 
On that note, we'll sign out now.

Stiff Willi in the News

Local southern Maryland news site The Bay Net throws T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili some love today with an article chronicling my participation in the ICS World's Championship Chili Cookoff two weekends ago in addition to my new T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili Spice Mix, which is for sale on my website here.

I do need to clarify a couple things from the article though. It implies that the Chili Chicks are affiliated with me, that I use them to help spread the word about my spice mix. However, this is not the case; the Chili Chicks are an independent dance team from Florida who were at the cookoff and hung out with us at my tent for a while.

Also, my friend "B-Rich" who is mentioned in the piece is Brian Richards, a good buddy of mine from college who coined the name "T-Rev."

So, welcome Baynet readers. Please have a look around the blog and website and let me know what you think. Considering my spice mix has only been on the market for about a month and a half, this blog is in its very nascent stages and is intended to be a fun, user-friendly interface for Stiff Willi friends and fans. If you've picked up some T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili Spice Mix already and have used it in your own recipes, feel free to send them along and I'll post them here for others to use (with full credit, of course).

I'm also chronicling "Stiff Willies around the World" by posting photographs of fans wearing their T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili t-shirts in interesting locales, so if you'd like to help me spread the word, pick up a t-shirt and head out on the town. You'll almost certainly draw some stares! And while I admit I'm a shameless self-promoter, your advertising assistance won't go unappreciated -- if you live in the southern Maryland area, stop by my local events for some free chili! Just check in here every now and then for updates on where I'll be.