Another one in the books, and this one feels extra special as we gathered together as we did before the pandemic…I heard more than once, snippets of conversation that included "…it's been 3 years since I last saw you!"
We were 47 strong this year, with 14 very strong entries, along with delicious snacks and desserts!
The afternoon flew by. Was it the new early start time, or was it because we had so much catching up to do? Either way, before you knew it, it was time to hand out awards and prizes, and next things we knew we were cleaning up and loading the car to bring our party in 8 bins home for another year of waiting!
Online voting is back for good now. Only two folks needed a paper ballot this year, and I had a few as backups just in case!
We had a couple of snafus with the two different ballots and we will be looking at ways to get back to a single ballot starting next year, which will retire the NextGen winner.
This year we had a clear People's Choice winner too…unable to break through to number one in any single category, but garnering more overall votes than any other chili…way to go Rob and Ruth!
A quick shout out to you who added amazing desserts and snacks, and to you who donated your time, prizes, and so many other things that make us successful…you are the best!!!
Once again, let us know what you think of the new timing, check out the winners, the party in pictures, and get to work on your recipe for the 35th, and thanks for all you do to make this such a great success every year!!!
Most Appealing Appearance
Time For Chili
Most Fragrant Bouquet
Hoak'n-Smok'n BBQ Chili
Most Blistering Heat
Smokin' Chicken Corn Carne
Most Curious Combination
Kare-Kare Me Back to Old Manila
Most Unabashedly Trendy
Chili’n and Grillin’
ICB Grand Champion
Smokin' Chicken Corn Carne
ICB NextGen
Chili with a Chance of Meatballs
ICB People's Choice
It’s Goan to be Delhi-cious!
Guess Why? - Michael Cincinatus
Schlitz Creek Chili - Ally Saks
Steamed Hams - Cory Amon
Fart of Darkness - Ellen Morrow
You Don't Know Jack - Dawn & Barry Bernstein
The Aurora Ambuscade - Paul Beard & Julie Sermer
And finally, a look at the party in pictures…Thank you SO much!