12th annual chili cook-off Saturday on Central Ave.
Downtown Laurel will be as hot and spicy as ever this Saturday with the 12th annual Magnolia State Bank Chili Cook-Off returning to Central Avenue. Hosted by Laurel Main Street, the event will feature more than 40 teams offering their best version of the meaty mouthfuls in hopes of taking home bragging rights — and money — as the best pot-stirrers.
Offerings of both traditional and homestyle chili will be cooked on site and served to attendees as well as local professional judges, with prizes up for grabs for each category.
The judges will award the traveling chili pepper trophy and a check for $1,000 for the grand prize in traditional chili. The best homestyle chili will earn the traveling chili pot trophy and $1,000. Second-place teams will receive $300.
Public tasters will vote on the coveted People’s Choice award, with the winners claiming $200 and hand-crafted pottery by local artist Jeremy Brooke of Bullfrog Pottery. Tastings will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
And even if their chili isn’t voted among the best, the booth offering the most fun will be awarded the Spirit Tent Theme Award, $200 and hand-crafted pottery by Brooke.
This year’s judges are Alfa insurance agent Ben Cole, “Home Town” star Mallorie Rasberry, Dr. Michael Eubanks, who will take over as superintendent of the Laurel School District on July 1, and Jons College President Dr. Jesse Smith.
The Laurel Exchange Club team is the four-time defending champion in the People’s Choice category. They claim they would have won five in a row had the COVID pandemic not interrupted the streak. Team members are looking forward to defending their crown.
Nick Roll, captain of the Laurel Exchange Club team, said this will be the final hurrah for the chili champions, who will be hanging up their spoons after this final event.
“Like the Michael Jordan documentary, we are naming our team ‘The Last Dance,’” Roll said. The former professional chef now is a lumber broker in Waynesboro. “We are highly competitive and want to go out with another big win.”
Tickets for all-you-care-to-eat tastings are $15, and there will be keepsake handmade pottery bowls available to the first 200 takers for $30. All who purchase tickets will vote in the People’s Choice award. Children 12 and younger may sample chili for free, and each will receive a free hot dog at the Magnolia State Bank hospitality tent.
“The chili cook off is about community,” Magnolia State Bank representative Heather Brown said. “It is about bringing our community together to cook, eat and compete in the streets of downtown Laurel!”
Commemorative T-shirts will be available at the hospitality tent for $35. Pets are prohibited.
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