Chili in the City

Today we had a Chili contest at work to raise funds for the United Way.  There were 8 entries and prizes were awarded for the Spiciest and Best Tasting Chili.  Well our man Mr. Chad won the tastiest Chili prize with his Chipotle flavored entry.  He even made it vegetarian with Veggie Round and it was the best overall. 

There were a variety of entries, some had big chunks of meat, various vegetables.  There were a few that were quite different and didn't even resemble real chili...or so we thought.

As we were tasting all of the entries, we started one of our usual "Big Bang Theory" type of conversations about what constitutes real chili.   We all agreed Chili peppers but had varying opinions on the rest.  So I went to the Official Chili Society for the rules. 

Traditional Red Chili is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients, with the exception of BEANS and PASTA which are strictly forbidden.

Beans are strictly forbidden?  Wow, who knew?   By this criteria I don't think we actually had a chili contest.  By this criteria the chili that we mocked as not qualifying as chili was probably the only actual chili there!!

O well, it tasted yummy.  Congrats Chipotle Chili Champion Chad.