When Plant City-based Umami Smoke food truck owner/chef Kevin Ware, who was hoping the judges at last weekend’s ChiliFest competition would give his Dragon’s Fire chili top marks in the spicy category, heard the announcer congratulating Scooby’s Outdoor Adventures for winning the category, he plopped down in his camping chair, feeling defeated. Ware and his team, who had competed in all three categories at last year’s event and had placed second in the spicy category, thought they were a shoo-in for an award even though they had only brought one chili to be judged this year.
Then, he realized there was one more category he could win: People’s Choice Award. When the announcer said Umami Smoke was the category winner, he was elated. “I heard someone say ‘and the winner is Umami Smoke’ and I don’t know if I stood up or leapt up, I was so excited,’ he said. “I was flabbergasted that out of all those chilis the crowd chose ours as the best one.”
Ware’s chili recipe, which he made with his right-hand man Bill Bowers, included chopped smoked beef brisket in a complex sauce of chiles and spices. He topped the chili with a cilantro lime garlic cream sauce. “Every spoonful of chili created a layering of flavors in your mouth,” he said.
Ware and other amateur and professional chefs gathered at the Robert W. Willard Railroad Museum to compete in this year’s annual ChiliFest. The event, which was sponsored by The Arts Council of Plant City and combined with Railfest, featured teams that cooked up 21 different chili recipes that hundreds of attendees paid five bucks each to sample all of them.
Three independent judges voted for their favorites. In addition to People’s Choice award winner Umami Smoke, category winners included:
Mild Category Winners:
1st Place- Scooby’s Outdoor Adventures
2nd Place- Felton’s Meat & Produce
Spicy Category Winners:
1st Place- Scooby’s Outdoor Adventures
2nd Place- Hillbilly Chili
Novelty Category Winners:
1st Place- Krazy Kup LLC
2nd Place- Plant City Observer
Plant City Observer Sports Editor Taylor Jenkins was ecstatic when he learned he had placed in the novelty category. His recipe, a cherry-wood smoked chuck roast chili, was made with love. “I’d never really made chili from scratch before but I love every opportunity to break out my smoker and try out a new recipe,” he said. “I was a little surprised to hear my chili got second place but glad that everyone seemed to like it.’
The Arts Council of Plant City President Marsha Passmore said combining the Arts Council’s ChiliFest with the Robert Willard Railfest was a positive effort and the two events complemented each other nicely. “Even though we were competing with Gasparilla, there was a huge crowd in attendance and there was lots to see and do,” she said.
Event organizer Frank Cummings agrees, calling the event a success. “The weather was just perfect and it was just ‘chili’ enough that it worked out,” he joked.
He is thankful for everyone who participated, including the students from Drawdy’s Dance School and Chris Welbon Karate Clubs who performed for the crowd. He’s also thankful for the judges and everyone who came out to support the event. Although not an official judge, he did sample plenty of chili. “I ate so much chili I had to take some Pepto Bismol at the end of the day,” he said.
While the proceeds from the event haven’t been calculated yet, the money will benefit The Arts Council of Plant City scholarship program.
For more information about The Arts Council of Plant City visit www.plantcityarts.com.
