Writer gets taste of some of the best chili around

COMMENTARY /// Thousand Oaks cook-off



POWERFUL POTION—Destiny Rodriguez of Casa Pacifica serves up a cup of chili during the Rotary Club’s annual chili cook-off at Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks on April 30.

POWERFUL POTION—Destiny Rodriguez of Casa Pacifica serves up a cup of chili during the Rotary Club’s annual chili cook-off at Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks on April 30.

You could say I get around. That is to say, in my relatively short time covering Thousand Oaks for the Acorn Newspapers, I’ve visited nearly every school and park in the city and more churches than I can recall, and I’ve attended countless civic commission, committee and board meetings.

I’ve also made it to nearly all the large-scale events, but somehow I’d managed to miss out on the annual Thousand Oaks Chili Cook-Off and Car Show.

So imagine my surprise when I got an email asking if this cookoff newbie would consider being a judge at the event on April 30 at Conejo Creek Park North. After making sure there were no conflicts with the paper, I shot back an email to Susan Murata, the chili cook-off and judging chair, saying I’d love to participate.

“ Sign me up for whichever category ( or categories) you need filled,” I wrote.

Little did I know I’d get the chance to judge all three groups.

I have to admit to being a little worried it would be a baptism by fire. I’m a SoCal girl who grew up eating decidedly spicy Mexican food, but would the Scoville Scale, which measures the heat of peppers, fly out of control? I’ve seen the Food Network specials featuring chili so spicy it made the host tear up and break out in a sweat, so this was a concern.

Luckily, it was for naught. The cooks took it easy on us judges. From what I could tell, they were more concerned about developing flavors than scorching our taste buds (and I thank them for that).

I had some time to kill after checking in at the judges’ tent, so I wandered around the main food and vendor section of the event. This is where one could purchase lobster rolls, cowboy hats and a ton of things in between.

This was also where guests got to taste the hot stuff for 50 cents a pop and vote on the People’s Choice winner. There aren’t many rules about what can and cannot go into the People’s Choice chili, unlike the judge-scored chili, which cannot contain beans, per International Chili Society rules. Yes, there is an International Chili Society. Who knew?

By 11 a.m., the grounds behind the library were already full, though not crowded, with people milling about, checking out the chili and listening to live music. By the way, to say there was a range of music is an understatement. Through the course of the day, on just one of the three stages, I heard everything from Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” to the Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun.”

Soon it was time to judge the first category: salsa. Numbered quart cups full of tomato, onion and pepper combinations were placed on a table and judges made their way down the line tasting the concoctions on tortilla chips.

The salsa competition is strictly a matter of personal preference without guidelines, but whether judges preferred large chunks of veggies or smaller ones, a wetter salsa or a drier pico de gallo, there was something for everyone.

Next came the green chili. It surprised me that these were the spiciest of the bunch. Most had chicken or pork. And, although there wasn’t a single one I didn’t like, I was able to come up with my top three, which judges were asked to do in each category.

Finally, it was time for what most people consider “traditional chili”: the red stuff. These too were mostly darn good and, as it turns out, I apparently have similar tastes to Councilmember Joel Price, who also judged the category. We came up with the same three top choices (out of 10 or so), though in a different order.

Between all this tasting, I had a chance to sneak off to the car show, which featured about 65 entries. While the Thousand Oaks Rotary Club puts on the chili cook-off, the Conejo Valley Rotary Club organizes the car show—yes, they are two separate clubs, another fact I learned. The clubs work together on most other aspects of the event, but they get a bit of help from outside as well, said Car Show Chairperson Denise Vivero.

“(I) would love to get a big shout-out to our many, many friends and family that volunteered on Sunday to make our event possible and again remind everyone that the Rotary clubs use the proceeds to do many community projects,” she wrote in an email to the Acorn.

A few days out, it strikes me what a cool community event this is all around. Everyone seemed to be having a good time—and all for a good cause. My stomach’s just about settled, and I’m ready for the next event. When’s that Margarita Mix-Off?

Becca Whitnall is a Ventura County native. She covers the City of Thousand Oaks for the Thousand Oaks Acorn.


Whitnall

Whitnall

YUMMY IN THE TUMMY—Little Liam Couch, 2, of Newbury Park digs into a cup of chili during the April 30 Rotary cook-off.

YUMMY IN THE TUMMY—Little Liam Couch, 2, of Newbury Park digs into a cup of chili during the April 30 Rotary cook-off.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *