Harvest heat

By Staff Reports - 10/14/2009


You might call John Fenrich the Johnny Appleseed of chili competitions.

Nearly every place he's lived he's started a chili competition. He left a trail of heat across towns in northern California, and now he's making his mark in Owasso.

Fenrich and other chili heads are bringing the heat to the Owasso Harvest Festival Chili Cook-Off on Oct. 24.

Plenty of serious chili makers will be at the contest, since as a state competition it's a qualifying round to the world championship next year. But amateurs are welcome, too.

Fenrich is one of the pros, having cooked on the International Chili Society circuit for more than 30 years and competed in the world cook-off seven times.

For him, a pot of competition chili is an hours-long process costing about $150 to $200 per pot.

"Almost everyone I know thinks his or her chili is the best ever made," Fenrich said. "Then they enter a real chili cook-off and find out that just because it burned the toupee off crazy Uncle Zach, it wasn't really that good a pot of chili."

At least not by the chili society's standards. But that's why there's a people's choice contest. Whether it's for a chance to compete in the world championship or just for bragging rights, Fenrich said, a good chili should be memorable.

"When the judge takes a spoonful, he'll sniff it, taste just a little bit, check the flavor, sense an immediate spice or heat, which shouldn't be overwhelming. At the end of judging, you want them to say 'I would come back here and eat a whole bowl of this one.' "





Competition vs. people’s choice chili

International Chili Society chili is prepared on site for four hours (1 hour cold prep and 3 hours stoves on).

ICS chili is judged through blind judging, where the panel of judges does not know which team prepared the chili it is tasting.

ICS winners qualify to represent Oklahoma at the 2010 world championship.

ICS chili does not have any fillers or beans in it.





OWASSO HARVEST FESTIVAL CHILI COOK-OFF

When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 24 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for chili contest)

Where: Centennial Park, 15301 E. 86th St. North in Owasso

What: Chili contest and tasting, costume contest, scarecrow contest, pumpkin carving, face painting and car show

Cost: Festival is free. Chili tasting kits are $3.

Info: It’s not too late to enter the chili contest. Call John Fenrich at 609-6211.



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Tulsa World Reader Comments
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chilijohn, Owasso (10/14/2009 6:19:37 PM)
GREAT ARTICLE, just a couple of things to add: the cook-off has a website, just put Owasso Chili Festival in the search engine, Kay and I grew up in Tulsa and Bartlesville and came back to God's country after 35 years, so we are really not Californians. Hope everyone who reads the article comes by and says "Hey."

SRV, (10/20/2009 2:48:34 PM)
Any music or entertainment, the article is lacking a lot of info....!?



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