Chili will rule the Cook-off Before the Kick-off

The pigskin might rule Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 12, but in Mount Olive chili will rule the Saturday, Feb. 11, Cook-off Before the Kick-off at R&R Brewing, 541 Northwest Center St.

The event, that has attracted competition cooks from as far away as Florida and Oklahoma, will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with chili tasting between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

R&R Brewing will reopen at 1 p.m. Super Bowl Sunday and will remain open until after the game that will be shown in the taproom.

“We encourage taproom visitors to bring snacks, even crock pots if they wish, to make themselves at home for the game and let us handle the clean-up,” said Ryan Roberts, the brewery’s head of operations

As of Tuesday, Jan. 31, only 1 of the 25 cooking slots remained open.

If all of the teams show up, it will be the biggest chili cook-off in the state in about seven years, said Jamie Grady, a member of the International Chili Society since 2017.

Grady, who has competed in chili cook-offs, mainly in North and South Carolina, is helping organize the event and is serving as chief judge.

“I have not placed a hard (entry) deadline on it,” Roberts said. “It being the first year I don’t know how much time we need, but probably no later than Feb. 7 (to sign up).”

That, he said, should provide plenty of time to make final preparations.

“If one or two more sign up, we could find room for them, but the idea is that everybody have enough room and nobody feels like one spot is better than the other,” he stressed.

And with just days to go until the cooking slots are filled, Roberts is hopeful plenty of people will show up to eat the chili.

The event was announced on the International Chili Society website and within days 15 to 18 teams, including teams from Florida, Oklahoma, Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and North Carolina, had signed up, Grady said.

“The public is what we really need now,” Roberts asserted. “I thought it was going to be harder to get cooks than it would be to get people to show up and eat the chili.

“I do not want to have to be the one to package up gallons of chili times 25. That’s a lot of chili. We probably should talk to a food pantry or something to see if there is anything we could do to maybe give it to somebody in need.”

Those attending the chili tasting can purchase a $10 wrist band and eat all the chili they want.

Also, food trucks will be on site and beverages will be sold inside the brewery.

All contestants must prepare two gallons of chili for the People’s Choice Chili competition.

During the People’s Choice Chili competition those attending will pay $1 per sample and the team that has the most money at the end of the event will win the People’s Choice.

The winner will receive one-half of the money. The other half will go either to a charity donation or to help build on the event, Roberts said.

Competition

To compete to earn points, cooks must be a member of the International Chili Society. Cooks can purchase an annual membership for $45 or a one-event pass for $10.

For cooks who want to compete, but do not care about earning points, the entry fee is based on the category the person wants to compete in.

The entry fees are $30 for the home style division, $35 for the traditional red division and $25 for the chili Verde division.

First-, second- and third-place prizes of $140, $105 and $70, respectively, plus a medal will be awarded to winners in each division.

“Because it is a sanctioned event you have to be a member in their system to be recognized to earn points and for them to keep up when you qualify,” Roberts said. “Their website is chilicookoff.com and is very easy to navigate and very user friendly.”

The winner of the Cook-off Before the Kick-off will be eligible to compete in the World Chili Competition that will be held in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Roberts noted.

“So not that far,” he said. “I thought that would just be a really cool aspect. I know that a lot of these guys who compete in the state cook-offs, if they win, they have to go to Texas. That is a lot of financial investment. A lot of people may not do it just because of that.

“I said how cool would it be if somebody local was able to win or get in a top place and qualify to go down to Myrtle Beach just a few hours away? So there was a double-sided aspect of it. We could bring people here who normally wouldn’t come and they get to experience the town and hopefully stimulate the economy a little bit whether they are buying everything at the Piggly Wiggly, or gas.”

Also, local residents who might not feel like traveling out of state to compete might be willing to compete locally, Roberts said.

Its origins

The cook-off grew out of an annual event at R&R Brewing.

“We opened up at the end of 2018 and as a business we want to have one bigger event per quarter,” Roberts said. “The N.C. Pickle Festival we know when that is (the last weekend in April) and we kind of center our activities and energy toward making sure that is successful.

“We know that roughly December going into January and February there is not a whole lot going on. That is largely because of holidays.”

Roberts said he always has done something for the Super Bowl personally at his house.

“Now the brewery is here, and I wanted to be here and have something for the people to come and enjoy because one thing that people don’t like is having to clean up after everyone leaves,” he said.

Roberts said he is not sure how chili came into the picture.

“We were like let’s just do a potluck and we will get some small awards or give gift certificates, but let everybody bring a crock pot full of chili,” Roberts said.

But it was an informal type of thing, he said. It was advertised on social media and rules were established.

Everybody made the chili at home.

“We had a chili cook-off and always did it on the day of the Super Bowl,” he acknowledged. “The thought was to announce the winners right before the kickoff so we called it Cook-off before the Kick-off.”

In this area we like to cook, everybody does, Roberts said.

“But I can’t cook work a flip,” he said.

One aspect of such groups as the International Chili Society is that a charitable contribution has to be made, Roberts pointed out.

“I said that is no problem, we have several entities around town whether it is the Chamber or a civic group, the Rotary Club or something like that,” he said. “So that was no problem. So I said we already do a chili cook-off this will just kick it up to the next level.

“This helped get us some outreach, bring people to town. So it is feeling that travel and tourism attraction aspect that we always want to achieve.”

This year the donation will go to the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I have been involved with them a lot,” Roberts said. “I kind of know what the plans are and where it is going. They have been working real closely with the Mount Olive Development Committee.

“It is good to see we have a couple of non-profit entities that are focusing on economic development and somehow be revitalizing the town. Now that that is up and rolling we figure that for this year that we would donate to the Chamber.”

Fledgling Year

Roberts said the first year will provide the opportunity to work out the kinks and get the feedback he wants from the cooks and the public

“I think it could be something great,” he stressed.

Roberts said he does not view the cook-off as profit rendering, but rather as a way to roll out the carpet and bring people to Mount Olive.

He said he would like to build the event to the point it would be able to offer a top prize of $500 or $1,000.

Sponsors for the event are: Mt. Olive Pickle Co.; Piggly Wiggly of Mount Olive; Bobby Denning, Inc.; Bark & Bone Pet Services; Edward Jones agent Mark Harrell; State Farm Agent Melissa Throm; Strickland & Mitchell Family Properties; Jones True Value Hardware; Hood Farms of Grantham; and Grit Wellness.

For more information about the chili cook-off, contact Grady at 919-920-9351 or jgrady28365@gmail.com.

For more information about the event, contact Roberts at 919-738-5861.

Visit https://www.restaurantji.com/nc/mount-olive/r-and-r-brewing-/