Chili/BBQ Contest on Long Island

[SmokeInDaEye]

For all you Long Island, NY members, Ive been asked to help put together a chili contest which might also include a bbq/grilling category and would love your input. The contest will be in Nassau county in late March or May. Here's the basic thoughts and questions.

* It will be both a people's choice and a blind celebrity judged contest with prizes for both

* Chili can be prepared offsite in accordance with the health regulations TBD and kept at proper temps

* If we add a second category, my thought is wings or pulled pork versus ribs from a cost standpoint. Does anyone know what the health requirements are for cooking onsite on smokers/grills and serving to the public? They seem to really want stuff prepped in professional kitchens.

* Prize money. We were thinking a low entry fee like $50 with a $500 GC prize per category and trophies for 2nd and third? Would people be in to that? Or maybe we just do 1 category (chili or wings) and keep it simple?

Final note, this is also a fundraiser for kids so therefore I want to make sure they make some money. We'll charge people to come and eat/judge the people's choice.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. I don't have a ton of time to help them but it is a great group and I want to make sure people come and have fun.

[Tango Joe]

Chili cook offs are great fund raising events, been to many, cooked in a bunch and judged a few.

Coming from just the chili stand point, the more cooks the better. Sometimes it is a good idea to break the People's Choice into to two categories - Professional & Amateur. On the professional side, a $50 entry would be a decent fee, though may a little steep for the home cook. $25 to $35 could draw more cooks on the amateur side. Prize money for each could reflect the difference in the fee. Trophy size as well.

Setting a minimum amount of chili to be prepared for competing is also a good idea, as nothing disappoints the crowd more than hearing 'we are all out' well before the end of the cook off. For the professionals, restaurants & caterers, a 5 gallon minimum is a good start, with 2 gallons on the home cook side.

Eating and voting fees should be pretty low. Some cook offs have a set charge for a wrist band for unlimited tasting, and some provide a couple of tickets which are handed to the cook before tasting. Also two different color tickets, one for the Prof and one for the home cook. If the fee is low enough for the tickets, most folks do purchase more than once. I think that is the way the rib cook off in Hicksville went as well. How did that work for them?

If scheduling works out, I'd be into cooking in this one for sure!

[Chipper]

Clint,

1. Do a "peoples choice" with the winner getting a cash prize for the most cash raised or the most tickets, if you go that route.
2. Use double sided tickets taped to the judging cups to make it a totally blind judging.

I can give you some more help, so PM or call me. 717-309-8303

[Sledneck]

If you have a chili verde category I'm n

[Tango Joe]

Chili Verde Rules!

[Sledneck]

Originally Posted by Joe Zukes

Chili Verde Rules!

Well that and it's the only chili I know how to make

[Tango Joe]

Originally Posted by Sledneck

Well that and it's the only chili I know how to make

Looks like the Verde category now has two entrants to far!

[SmokeInDaEye]

If we just did one category would you prefer wings (most likely supplied) or chili for around $35 entry fee?

[Tango Joe]

From a fund raising perspective, I think that chili would be less expensive to make and could go further.
I've never done wings for a big crowd so I do not know the cost per wing. How does the gate fee work for that, is it 50 cents per wing?
Serving size for people's choice chili at most ICS events is about 2 tablespoons.

[TailGateJoecom]

Originally Posted by SmokeInDaEye

For all you Long Island, NY members, Ive been asked to help put together a chili contest which might also include a bbq/grilling category and would love your input. The contest will be in Nassau county in late March or May. Here's the basic thoughts and questions.

* It will be both a people's choice and a blind celebrity judged contest with prizes for both

* Chili can be prepared offsite in accordance with the health regulations TBD and kept at proper temps

* If we add a second category, my thought is wings or pulled pork versus ribs from a cost standpoint. Does anyone know what the health requirements are for cooking onsite on smokers/grills and serving to the public? They seem to really want stuff prepped in professional kitchens.

* Prize money. We were thinking a low entry fee like $50 with a $500 GC prize per category and trophies for 2nd and third? Would people be in to that? Or maybe we just do 1 category (chili or wings) and keep it simple?

Final note, this is also a fundraiser for kids so therefore I want to make sure they make some money. We'll charge people to come and eat/judge the people's choice.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. I don't have a ton of time to help them but it is a great group and I want to make sure people come and have fun.

I don't know if charging the entrants is the best idea. This isn't a Q comp where you are only submitting to judges, in this contest you are looking to feed all the attendees, so maybe get your revenue from the attendees instead.

Google "chili takedown." Those guys run a huge money making operation based out of NY but now nationwide. The contest is free to enter and they give away a lot of great prizes. Cooking is done off site and they provide sterno setups and tasting/serving cups.

The free entrant, paying attendee model is also what they use for The Great Hot Dog Cookoff, which i competed in the last 2 years (second place both times, beaten by a lobster roll hotdog, total bs don't get me started!). Cooks were encouraged to cut the dogs into 2-3 servings each and have enough to serve 2-300. They raised a lot of coin. They did it at Kelso brewery in Brooklyn and the wristband included all the beer you could drink as well as hot dog tastings from 20 chefs. The crowd loved it both times.

Here is an idea, why not do a chili/chilidog comp. People could enter 1 or both. The chili portion is a peoples choice award, every attendee gets a poker chip and they deposit it in the box for their pick. The chili dog portion is a judged event. You rent a few grills, contestants can do any prep they want ahead.

Keep us posted on what you decide with the event, I usually try to avoid LI but maybe I'll take the ride out there to throw down.

[JimmyDAL]

best way to run it would be to have a separate area with volunteers spooning out the samples so it's unbias, otherwise it becomes a popularity contest or who knows who and it takes away from the whole purpose of it. If you plan on doing it next year as well this is huge for returning cooks and those who may want to be involved after coming in. I've run my share of them and by far that is what always seems to work best IMHO.

[speedrcer1]

I would be game either way. But if the wings are supplied, would we get them just an hour or two ahead of time?
But I do like the idea of taking it away from a popularity contest. Jimmy has one suggestion. I'm sure there are other ways.
I think the $35 - $50 entry range is fine.

[TooSaucedToPork]

So I have been toying with doing a contest along the same lines to benefit my local VFW.

This is some of the things I came up with:

3 Categories

Beer, Wine, and Chili – I can do this b/c it is at a VFW with a serving permit J

Get the local Homebrew clubs involved

$15 entry fee for each entry

Main contest – celebrity judges $125 first, $50 second, $25 third
Prize amounts increase with entry fees received

50/50 split People’s Choice divided among the 3 categories

People’s Choice - $5 to sample 4 chili’s
$5 to sample 4 beer’s
$5 to sample 4 wine’s

3oz sample beer
2oz sample wine
6oz sample chili

All different color separate tickets for each category

Each ticket will have booth numbers assigned to the ticket, that way everyone gets the same amount of exposure and a fair vote.

If you make $1500 on Peoples Choice tickets then:
$750 goes to the charity
$750 goes to the prize pool divided by 3 is $250

$250 to the winner of each People’s Choice

Maybe borrow a few ideas...maybe not...

[JimmyDAL]

too sauced, too much to think about and too confusing. Kiss.

[Sledneck]

Originally Posted by TailGateJoecom

Keep us posted on what you decide with the event, I usually try to avoid LI but maybe I'll take the ride out there to throw down.

is the infamous tailgate joe from e-10?