PALM COAST, Fla. – The Palm Coast Chili Cookoff has become a regular stop on the way to the world competition, and this year’s event punched the tickets of several returning world qualifying competitors.
As one of the last cookoffs of the season, the two-day event held at European Village in Palm Coast provides chili cooks two opportunities to qualify in four categories before the calendar rolls over to the next year’s competitive schedule.
Palm Coast chili champion Larry Weltikol, has been competing across the nation for more than 20 years in the International Chili Society’s events.
A Grand Master Cook in both the red and green divisions, Weltikol ranked third in the world for homestyle chili several years ago.
“It’s something that we enjoy doing. I’ve been to the World Championship probably 20 times,” he said.
He was excited about working with HT Production Company’s Heather Thompson to bring the Palm Coast chili cookoff to the area nearly a decade ago, and proud of the reputation the event has earned among chili cooks nationwide.
“Heather Thompson is probably one of the best organizers that you can find,” he said. “We have great cooks, it’s competitive. We send cooks to the world championships and we have great judges. Some of them have been with us all seven years.”
One of only three cookoff competitions in the state, the pair are adding a new competition “The Big Chilly – Polar Bear Plunge & Chili Cookoff” in St. Augustine Beach in January 12-14, 2024 according to Weltikol.
“It’s a new cookoff Heather and I put together with Kevin DeNell that runs the Lake Wales chili cookoff at the Guy Harvey,” he said. “We have our cookoff and then another one down in the Miami area, Lake Wales, and St. Augustine Beach. I/m just hoping we get our numbers because we need 10 cooks in each division to make it a qualifier for the world championship.”
Judges Give a Fair Shake
It takes a stomach of steel to judge four rounds of chili, two days in a row, but Flagler County Commissioner Greg Hansen has bellied up to the bar every year to support the event.
“We have 35 cookers and it makes it challenging to do the judging,” he said before heading in to judge the Red chili category. “15 chilis we’re going to taste. That’s a lot of chili.”
“Red is my favorite. Homestyle is what you eat at home because it’s got beans in it. The Red is just meat and gravy. I’m looking for the taste. It’s got to taste good. For me it’s the spiciness of it. Not too spicy. You can detect those the first millisecond it hits your mouth.”
Serving as the event’s official emcee is an added honor for Hansen, who also enjoys handing out the awards each day.
“It’s terrific. It’s really a good thing for Palm Coast. You see all the people out here, it’s really nice.”
New faces rotate through the judges’ panel each year, tasting as many as 75 different chili recipes in a single day. Some like Kevin Byrne, Danielle Piero and Dominic Austrino are returning judges, basing their blind-taste testing on texture, flavor, color, consistency, and more.
Stiff Competition
The venue and hospitality play a big part in the competition and chili cooks find the Palm Coast event at European Village to be among the friendliest on the circuit. They’re happy to come and spend a weekend in the area.
“This is always a great event, lots of fun,” said Joann Wycoff, from Kennesaw, Georgia, cooking up her Homestyle recipe.
No shame in their game, Mike Powers and his team from Fort Lauderdale served up the crowd at their booth lined with trophies.
“We’re here every year. We win all the time,” said Powers. “Last year we won Red, Verde and Homestyle. It’s a nice place to get out, hang out and have a cocktail.”
Tony Perry from south Central Florida is a four-time Palm Coast Chili Cookoff competitor and says he and his brother travel the southeastern United States for cookoffs. Palm Coast is one of their favorite stops.
“I love it here. It’s a good crowd, everybody is friendly. We have a good time here and wouldn’t miss this one,” said Perry, competing in all four categories.
Some cooks like Tom Panciello even expand their reach after winning a division during the cookoffs.
“In 2018 we won People’s Choice but we weren’t part of the ICS the first time we did a cookoff. Then we came back in December. They did another one and we won People’s Choice for ICS and then we started traveling around doing them. We went to Myrtle Beach, Georgia, Miami. It’s a lot of fun. After I left here, I was selling a different style of chili in a restaurant in Daytona for four years,” he shared.
“I’ve always traveled for a living and this gives me something to travel and have fun doing.”
It’s good, clean family-friendly fun for all involved, and each cookoff has a charitable component that provides a give back to a local nonprofit. The Palm Coast Chili Cookoff has traditionally provided the charity funds to Teens-In-Flight and this year was able to make a $750 donation according to organizer Heather Thompson.
“It’s so great because we had so many new competitors that we picked up at the World Championship this year in Myrtle Beach. We’ve got Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Dallas, Texas, Atlanta, South Carolina, and local here in Palm Coast, Florida.
“The support we have in our local community to raise money for Teens-In-Flight makes me want to cry,” she said. “I think it’s great that everybody comes out here to support the International Chili Society and raise money to support Teens-In-Flight.”
The Palm Coast Chili Cookoff marked the final cookoff for the salsa division for the International Chili Society. Cookoffs will see the return of the vegetarian division in 2024.
Winners
