Chili Cook Off a Fat Tuesday success

Students, faculty and staff enjoy soups and chilis

By Kelsey Hoff

Main Place was crawling with crock pots Tuesday, Feb. 21, during the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Employee Alumni Group (PEAG) Chili and Soup Cook Off. Held every year either on Fat Tuesday or Valentine's Day, the event raises money for PEAG causes. This year's proceeds go to the Alumni Scholarship Fund.  

Among the entries were butternut squash soup, jambalaya, and "Fungal Matter & Stuff" soup and chilies called "Nothing Fancy" and "Aunt Matilida's Cross Country Chili" among others. Cajun music made the atmosphere complete as students, faculty, and staff milled around the serving tables sampling the various concoctions.

"I like cooking a lot, so it's nice to see different chilis," said Collin Manahan, a junior in sports management. Of the three recipes he tried, he liked Dave Buchanan's "Pretzel & Philly Chili" the best.

Cheryl Leyns, a junior majoring in molecular biology, had the taco soup. She had never been to the cook-off before and thought it was a great fund-raising idea, especially in a busy location like Main Place at noon.

The most important opinions were those of the judges: Chancellor Debbie Ford, Provost Terry Brown, Heather Miles, Chef Joe Minneci, Angela Jensen of Sodexo, and former dean of students Steve McLaughlin. The prize-winning chilis were Patricia Morgan's first-place "Home Grown Chili" featuring venison, Jolene Wall's "Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry" low-calorie chili, and Erin Schmidt's "Schmidt's Family Chili." The best soups were John Standard's top prize "Spicy Black Bean Soup, Karin Basken's "Spirit of Knautz Potato Bacon Soup," and "Brother Bob's Gumbo" by Connie Wheeler.

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ABOUT THIS STORY:

Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 2/22/2012

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