Publisher column: Who knew there were so many ways to make chili?

By Randy Capps

Chili con carne is a dish that dates back to Aztec empire and found its way into American culture via northern Mexico and Texas.

Typically, the staples are beef, chili peppers or powder and, depending on taste, beans and tomatoes.

I say typically because, as I learned at the recent Selma’s Super Bowl of Chili Cookoff, there are at least 22 different ways to make it.

I was tasked with being a celebrity judge — and the word celebrity is doing a lot of work there — at the event, which was a fundraiser for the Harrison Center for Active Aging. It was my second foray into food judging, having once sampled livermush, of all things, in my adopted hometown of Shelby.

There were 22 crockpots in the hallway at the Harrison Center, numbered 1-21 with a 4.5 thrown in between, you guessed it, four and five. We were asked to judge the entries based on aroma, appearance, taste and aftertaste, and as you might expect from a room full of chili pots, the results were all over the place.

We had hot chili, sweet chili, light chili, dark chili, chili that looked more like stew, chili with pineapple, chili with corn, chili with lima beans and some entries that had combinations of all those things.

When the tasting spoons were put away, Sandra Honeycutt was the judge’s choice winner, while Tracy Hood (the 4.5 entry) was the People’s Choice honoree.

I remember thinking highly of both of those, which I guess means my chili sensibilities are in line with the general public.

▸ The celebrity judges take a break after a bit of chili tasting. They are, from left to right, Randy Capps, Johnston County Commissioner Ted Godwin, Selma Mayor Bryon McCallister, Former Selma Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Lacy and Pastor Todd Daniels of Selma Baptist Church.