Here's are some photos from this year's DC101 Chili Cook-Off, won by none other than T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili!
We took first place in the prestigious ICS Red category and I also won Rookie of the Year -- this was the first chili cook-off I've ever entered. As a result of this regional victory, I earned an automatic berth in the International Chili Society's World Championship Chili Cook-Off in Charleston, WV in October.
This is a shot of our tent in the middle of Row 3 as we prepared for the deluge of partiers. The DC101 cook-off is a huge rock concert and was headlined this year by The Offspring and everyone's favorite band, Third Eye Blind. My Stiff Willi Chili shirts were a huge hit; we sold more than 30 and gave away many more.
This is me doing one last run-through before lighting the stoves at 11:00.
This is my brother Erik, who designed one helluva chili pepper logo but apparently didn't see the memo saying soul patches are soooo '70s '80s '90s never.
Team Stiff Willi Chili, from left to right: Mike, Brady, Erik, and me.
Best thing about chili cook-offs: Once the first spice dump is history, you get to stand around and drink for an hour.
Stiff Willi Chili, only a half-hour in and well before he knew he was the man.
Fellow competitors:
These guys with the "3 Meat Mouth Massage" chili were right across from us and were responsible for eliciting the best joke of the day. One of the girls yelled, "Hey! How about a three-meat mouth massage?" To which my brother deadpanned, "There's four of us."
Notice the chef is not in the picture.
Erin and Amie strikin' a pose while we wait on the judges.
Cindy, Amie, and Erin
The fawning groupies come out of the woodwork after Daddy brings it home.
The rain started coming down around 6:00, but we really didn't care at that point.
On a side note, Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley was one of the judges and apparently he had me in second place overall. I was the first loser in his eyes so I figured maybe he'd make it all up to me by hooking a brother up and plugging my t-shirt on his blog after my buddy's wife gave him one -- but all he could muster was the one he made himself and wore at the cookoff. It's hard out here for a pimp.
