Wrap Up

The Old Time Chili Cookoff and Cruisin' for Miracles car show drew a lot of people throughout the day on April 17, 2010 in downtown Asheboro. Here's what the Courier-Tribune wrote ...

Mayor David Smith broke a tie for the best overall chili. Four independent judges each dipped their spoon into the same bowl from each of the 13 cooks. When the numbers were all tallied up, there was a tie between Kim Jarmon and Danny Tyson. The Mayor tasted them both and broke the tie. Bobby Simmons came in third.

By a landslide, Charles Fowler won the People's Choice award.

From a technology standpoint, it takes awhile to post images to Facebook and this Website, but please check back throughout the week to see them. And, thanks to students at Randolph Community College for being roaming photographers. They and Greta Lint captured chili, cars and a lot more. You may see yourself!

Cooks on Live TV

This week, some of the cooks have appeared on WFMY News 2 and WGHP Fox 8 morning shows to show you how they prepare their chili. Scroll down for some of the clips.

Not all chili cooks participated because there are 14 cooks - and there were only 9 time slots to fill on the morning TV shows.

Get your pad and paper and take notes ... some secret ingredients are brown sugar and pineapple ...

Meat Options for Chili

 

Gotta Have Cold Milk and Cornbread!

 

Defending 2009 Champ - People's Choice Award

 

NC Zoo Chili Cookoff Winner

 

County Cafe Chili

Hawaiian Explosion Chili

Saturday's Schedule of Events

Old Time Chili Cookoff & Cruisin’ for Miracles Car Show
Location: Bicentennial Park and Sunset Avenue, downtown Asheboro

7 a.m. Cooks begin cooking

8:30 a.m. Mandatory Head Cooks’ Meeting at the Judges Booth

8:30-10:30 a.m. Car Show Registration

8:30 a.m. Chili tasting tickets go on sale

11 a.m. Car Show Judging begins

11 a.m. Beer tent opens

Noon Chili Cooks submit chili to judges before any samples are offered to the public

Noon Old Time Chili Cook-Off opens to the public

12:15 p.m. Public sampling of chili begins (ticket required)

12:15-5:45 Entertainment on the Stage

12:15-1:45 p.m. Rockinhorse

1:45-2:15 p.m. Santosha Hoop Dancing

2:15-3:45 p.m. The Fairlanes

4:15-5:45 p.m. Lawyers Guns & Money

DJ Bama to play music in breaks.

3:30 p.m. Car Show Awards

4:30 p.m. Chili Awards

6 p.m. Event ends

LIVE TV

So what happens on live TV? You never know ...

Some of the cooks participating in the Old Time Chili Cookoff will be appearing on WGHP Fox 8 on Wednesday morning from 6-8:30.

Then on Friday, some more cooks will be on WFMY from 6:15 - 7:45 a.m.

You may want to copy down their list of ingredients. And yes, each batch is made to taste, not a recipe!

Our New Logo

Thanks to Bill Lunsford in Asheboro for designing our new logo ...

Thanking our Sponsors

Firecrackers
The Courier-Tribune
WKXR Radio

Fire Alarms
Varsity Sports Restaurant
Signs & Designs

Hot Shots
Fresh Cuts Butcher & Seafood

Fire Starters
Top Dog Promotions
Catbird Press
Pip Printing
Community One Bank - Asheboro locations

What Makes Great Chili? Not All Agree.

What goes into making a really good chili? People in Asheboro will find out in two weeks during the Old Time Chili Cookoff.


The event will be held, rain or shine, on Saturday, April 17 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Bicentennial Park in historic downtown Asheboro. The Golden Corral Cruisin’ for Miracles car show will be held there at the same time. Organizers anticipate more than 100 cars will show up if the weather is nice.

Admission is free to both events. If you want to cast your vote for the People’s Choice Award, you’ll need to buy a $5 tasting ticket. You’ll get a ballot and wristband allowing you to sample chili. The overall winner will take home $500 cash.

So what will tasters be looking for? Heat? Flavor? Texture? Aroma? Color? Appearance? And does chili really have to be hot?

Event organizers Cindy Wilkins, Greta Lint and Mac Whatley all disagree.

“It’s a good thing we’re not judging,” says Lint. “We never would reach a consensus! Mac likes the Mexican mole sauce.”

“Well, it’s got an unusual flavor that I really like,” says Whatley. “It’s an unconventional chili sauce where I can taste the chocolate. Mole sauce is my favorite. However, regarding more local palates, I like chili with beans and even some pasta mixed in.”

Wilkins says she likes traditional North Carolina thick chili. “I don’t want it runny. I like mine chunky. I want to see the vegetables. Well, you can mix them up in a blender and create a thick sauce, but as long as I know they’re in there, I’m happy.”

On the flip side, Lint says she just prefers chili without the beans. “I like the taste, but not necessarily what they do to me,” she chuckles. “You know, few will admit that!”

She adds that the older she gets, the more she appreciates the combination of heat and sour cream. “It’s the after-affect, the one that sneaks up on you that I like,” she explains. So her plan is to eat some chili, neutralize the heat with some home made ice cream and wash it all down with cold beer. Varsity Sports Restaurant will provide the beer tent.

Throughout the past two years, Lint has interviewed quite a few cooks and she’s learned that it’s best to test your recipe before you enter it. “Cooks have told me that when you’re cooking several gallons of chili, the consistency may not be the same as if you’re cooking a smaller amount for your family. Some beans stay firm; others get mushy. Not all meats cook up the same way.”

The Old Time Chili Cookoff is still accepting cooks. For more information, call Cindy Wilkins at 430-8372.

Thanks to the City of Asheboro

We're very pleased that the City of Asheboro is helping with this event. The City is providing Port-o-johns, trash cans, security, fire protection and guidance and trash removal.

Periodically, we've gone back to the City asking for advice or help, and leaders have been very supportive.

So, to our Mayor, City Council and City Staff, we thank you for all you're doing to help us have a fun and highly successful chili cookoff and cruise-in.

Seeking Cooks

We have 9 cooks signed up so far and are looking for a total of 25. That's all the space we have. We would like someone who cooks vegetarian chili. You know, not everyone likes meat. So, if you're interested in letting others taste your chili - and vie for a cash prize or gas grill - please let us know. We'll need a minimum of 3 vegetarian contestants to have a contest.

Your Chili Pot of Gold ....

Cook up your own pot of gold ...

Judges
$500 1st Place - for each division
$200 2nd Place - for each division
$100 3rd Place - for each division
$300 Showmanship - one prize

Public
$300 People's Choice - one prize

Luck o' the draw - A brand spankin' new gas grill from Lowe's Home Improvement of Asheboro to a lucky cook

Want to show off your car?

The Golden Corral Restaurant in Asheboro is raising money for the Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit which helps kids who need medical help. The restaurant is in the geographic division that provides monies to Duke Hospital - for children who live here.

The GC restaurants in Alamance and Guilford counties support the Children's Miracle Network's efforts in Winston-Salem at Baptist Hospital.

You can help by clicking here to get registration information and all the other details. Bring a friend! And, if you enter, send us an email of your car so we can post it here on the two Websites - http://www.oldtimechilicookoff.com/ and http://www.cruisin4miracles.us/. 

We're Seeking Chili Cooks, Food Vendors and Volunteers

The Old Time Chili Cookoff is seeking commercial food vendors, chili cooks and volunteers.

The event will be held on Saturday, April 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Bicentennial Park in downtown Asheboro. The cookoff will be held in conjunction with the Cruisin’ for Miracles car show hosted by Golden Corral.

A variety of cash prizes will be offered to chili cook winners, including a People’s Choice Award. Cooks must provide a minimum of six gallons of chili to serve the public. Rules are available online at http://www.oldtimechilicookoff.com/.

The deadline for anyone offering festival food is March 28. The deadline for people to sign up to cook chili is April 12.

Volunteers are needed to staff ticket booths and an information tent, photograph the event and assist with set-up and breakdown. Set up will begin around 6 a.m. with the event tearing down beginning at 6 p.m.

To get vendor and cooking applications, rules and to sign up to volunteer, call 336-430-8372 or email chili@oldtimechilicookoff.com.

If this is a fundraiser ...

Then where is the money going? Good question. After all the bills are paid, the money that is left over is going to two different places.

Proceeds from the chili cookoff will be going to match a major grant from the North Carolina Rural Center to start fixing up the old Randolph Manufacturing Company mill in Franklinville. The goal is to create a showplace and new jobs. The mill is owned by the Randolph Heritage Conservancy, Inc. The purpose of that organization is to elevate the awareness of our county's museums and Randolph County history.

Proceeds from the car show are going to the Children's Miracle Network to help offset the costs of children in our area who need to go to Duke Hospital. The Asheboro Golden Corral restaurant is in the CMN district that services Duke. Restaurants in Alamance and Guilford counties provide funds the the CMN efforts at Baptist hospital in Winston-Salem.

Let's Talk Beans ...

They come in all colors - red, yellow, speckled, green, black, blue, brown, white, off-white, tan. Oh, I suppose I've left some out. But you get the idea.

Now when Texans do a chili cookoff, they don't believe in beans. Well, that doesn't make a hill of beans of common sense to me! In the Carolinas, chili has beans in it. Right? I couldn't imagine a chili without beans - but I'm no guru. I just like to eat.

So as you're planning your strategy, you may want to do a test run of your chili to see which beans cook up well. Not all beans are created equal. Some hold their shape and flavor. Others get mushy and turn to cardboard. And keep in mind that if you're cooking in the competition, you'll need a minimum of 6 gallons of chili to serve. That's a lot of beans!

Here's some music you'll hear at the Old Time Chili Cookoff - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Press Release - Chili, Shiny Cars and Music Make a New Asheboro Event

When Forbes Magazine claimed in 2008 that Asheboro was a dying town, local community leaders and business owners weren’t happy. The following year, a local businessman started a new festival, the Asheboro Chili Cookoff. It was a raving success, but he moved away. So one of the sponsoring organizations has stepped forth to continue the momentum.

But there are some changes – like the name, rules and awards.

It has changed to the Old Time Chili Cookoff and it will be held on Saturday, April 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Bicentennial Park in Historic Downtown Asheboro. Various prizes will be given, including a People’s Choice Award. And, the event will be held in conjunction with a street rod and classic car cruise-in.

The Randolph Heritage Conservancy, Inc. is putting on the event in conjunction with the Golden Corral restaurant in Asheboro.

In the midst of planning, cookoff organizers found out that the Asheboro Golden Corral was already planning to hold a fundraiser in downtown on that same day. It is a cruise-in to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).

The local restaurant is located in the division that supports the CMN efforts at Duke Hospital in Durham. Golden Corral, Inc. is a corporate sponsor of CMN, with restaurants in the northern Triad supporting Wake Forest Hospital.

So everyone got together and hammered out a cooperative event: “Cruisin’ for Miracles” at the Old Time Chili Cookoff.

This is the fourth year that Golden Corral has held a cruise-in. “We were running out of space in our parking lot,” explains Gerald Cain, operations manager for the Asheboro restaurant, “so we decided to move elsewhere. Downtown Asheboro was the perfect spot.”

Conservancy president Mac Whatley feels the collaboration will bring more people to both events, increase awareness of local museums and historical efforts and the CMN – and give local people something else fun to do.

Cooks and judges will follow guidelines established through national and international rules and regulations. The deadline to register to cook chili is April 12.

For more information about the chili event, log onto www.OldTimeChiliCookoff.com, visit Old Time Chili Cookoff on Facebook or call 336-430-8372 or 336-629-1989. To register for the car show, email carshow@cruisin4miracles.us or call 336-625-6734.

"Classical Gas" - a fitting tribute to chili and pretty old cars

Cruise-In

We anticipate around 125 bright shiny classic and street rod cars to come show off their fenders, windows, wheel covers, license plates, dashes and lots more. In the past, Golden Corral has had a variety of car clubs show up, and this year we'll have more - because there's more space. .. We expect they'll have all arrived by 10 a.m. or so. Owners will want plenty of time to get that last-minute shine before the judging begins! ... And this is a fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network to help local children when they need to go to Duke Hospital.

Fresh Cuts Offers Discounts to Cookers

Fresh Cuts Butcher & Seafood in Asheboro is offering discounts to all registered meat cooks for the Old Time Chili Cookoff. For instance, Ground Chuck is regularly $2.49/lb. Registered meat cooks can purchase it for $1.99/lb. with a 5-pound minimum. Cooks will need to show their Cookoff registration to be eligible.

Fresh Cuts is located in the strip mall behind CVS on Zoo Parkway in Asheboro.

What has happened to the Asheboro Chili Cookoff? It's been transformed into a new event focusing upon Randolph County's heritage.

A new name ... new event ... new management ... new fun ...

Why the name change? The focus of the event is to showcase Randolph County history, the museums that are here and to let them tell their story. Besides, chili was a mainstay of early settlers, farmers, families - well -just about everybody. And it still is today. Yum, yum!

Golden Corral does an annual fundraiser to support the "Children's Miracle Network." The Asheboro store is part of the region that gives money to the program at Duke Hospital in Durham. For the past four years, the local restaurant has held a cruise-in at their facility. With limited space, the event has moved downtown. Golden Corral is producing a cruise-in with shiny street rods and classic cars.

It is joining forces with the Old Time Chili Cookoff to provide a daylong event of shiny cars, spicy chili and family fun.