Chili chefs pack them in at Shell Factory
You would think by looking at the crowd at the Shell Factory on Sunday that it was Gumbofest of some other major event that comes around in the winter season.
Instead, it was on a hot, sultry September afternoon that hundreds of chili lovers came to try out some of Southwest Florida’s best during the seventh-annual Great American Chili Cook-Off.
The event had been held at the Pink Shell in Fort Myers Beach, but renovations forced the move here. And while not being near the ocean made things a little hotter for the chefs, it didn’t stop people from coming.
Not only was admission free, but the event served as a way to raise funds and food for the Harry Chapin Food Bank, and indeed, the locals were up for the challenge, bringing in enough food to fill dozens of boxes.
Joyce Jacobs, associate director of the food bank, said the event has always been a great way to get the word out.
“This location gives the vendors and the chefs a lot more room to prepare their chili. We’ve done well. We have boxes filled with food and people have been making monetary donations,” Jacobs said. “It’s a great event.”
The cook-off was sponsored by the Southwest Florida Chef’s Association, which you had to be a part of to compete. Nearly 20 of the best area chefs competed for the title.
Most had arrived by sunrise to prep, get their ingredients mixed in and have their chili cooking, most of which simmered for hours until they were as hot as the pavement.
The chili ranged from the unique to the traditional. Joel Dekkers, of Brooks at the Commons in Estero, brought his dirty blonde chili, which is made with a combination of ground turkey, pork and veal, with black beans and red beans with traditional spices and veggies.
“I was here before 9 a.m. to set up and the chili was rolling by 9:15. This batch takes about two-and-a-half hours. But the longer it simmers the better,” Dekkers said. “Judging by the tickets, we had about 100 come try it.”
The one chef most were trying to beat was Jeff Giese of Sunset Spices and Specialties in Naples, who brought a chili made with smoked wagyu kobe brisket, smoked pork, ground beef and filet of strip.
“I have my own line of hot sauces on display that if someone wants to make the chili hotter, I can appease everyone,” Giese said, who came out at 9:30 and cooked his chili nearly four hours.
While most restaurants brought their own chefs, Anthony’s on the Green at Sable Springs did it a little differently. They had a chili cook-off in the community to see who would be in this chili cook-off, with Cheryl Smith being the winner with her traditional chili.
Meanwhile, Kyle Siemer of Fishbones was looking for some home cooking from the judges and the people to come away with the win with his ground beef and sausage based chili with basic flavor and mild to medium heat.
In the end, it was Sunset Spice that won the top honors over Midtown Kitchen and Bar and its smoked-beef short-rib chili, which took the People’s Choice Award.