This is the mother of all chili parties., my arch nemesis, the International Chili Society !!!! I was a member in 2007, and judged a qualifier in NJ. Needless to say, those chili chefs are deadly serious, and out for blood. They make brilliant chili, and use matching costumes and megaphones to prove it. Their Superbowl is in Las Vegas. You have to attend at least one ICS event in your life, because wow.
Of course, the ICS goes against the ethos of the Chili Takedown. Competition chili insists on no beans. Spiced ingredients should be rendered invisible. A perfectly textured chili is proven by a spoon that stands straight up in the cup, then falls slowly to the side. And a ton of unofficial aesthetic principles that purists embrace. At the Takedown, we embrace chaos.
Here at the Takedown, your mediocrity is encouraged, as are all your bad ideas. We want to see originality and experiments. We want to see ingredients you’d least expect – canned peaches, cream cheese, a log of wood. We won’t shy away when you accidentally pour a bottle of bourbon in your chili- we will run to you. You can make a beef, pork, fish, veggie chili, we seriously don’t care.
The only rule at the Takedown is, it better taste good. That’s kind of important. So remember dudes, the next Chili Takedown is Feb 8th. See you there…
