College hosts chili cook-off
The College of Agriculture hosted a dutch oven chili cook-off where students and faculty competed against one another to raise money for USU’s Capital Campaign Saturday evening at the Agricultural Sytems Tecnology and Education building.
The cook-off, hosted by the College of Agriculture Ambassadors and faculty members, attracted students, parents, faculty and USU President Stan Albrecht and his wife, Joyce, who all had the chance to taste each contestant’s chili.
Eight bowls of chili were sampled and reviewed by a panel of judges to determine the winner that entry judges declared “interesting and most original.”
Gary Straquadine, associate dean for the college and winner of the cook-off, said, “This is for a great cause because all the money raised will go toward the Capital Campaign goal of $200 million.”
Fawn Bowen, contestant, said the cook-off was truly a success because of the agricultural flavor and feel.
“Everybody brings a little something special within the College of Agriculture. You cannot go wrong when you have good friends, good chili and good music all going toward a good cause,” Bowen said.
Bowen’s chili provided a twist of flavor by using lamb meat instead of traditional beef.
“We wanted to represent all aspects of agriculture by showing that not all chili is created equal,” Bowen said.
Bowen’s secret ingredient was just one out of the many used Saturday. Contestants’ chili ingredients ranged from hot peppers to apricots and the winner’s use of tofu.
Justin Stout, Ag ambassador and contestant, said the cook-off was a great success and fun in the process.
“It’s fun to be a part of something that interacts students with the faculty outside of the classroom. It’s a great way to meet new people and see them having fun with an agriculture flavor,” Stout said.
Stout’s chili was known for tasting the most exotic and the spiciest in the contest. Stout practiced his recipe earlier in the week, just so he could get the perfect flavor to it, he said.
“Only thing was, I just planned on more people eating it,” Stout said.
Richard Beard and Bruce Miller, contestants and agricultural systems and technology professors, both said they look forward to making a chili cook-off an annual tradition to keep on cooking.
“This is a great way to stay inside and warm,” Miller said. “We had to move the tractors around a little bit to accommodate some cooking room, but this was a fun way to spend the Saturday afternoon before a basketball game.”
Jana Steinbeck, Ag ambassador, said although this is not the only fund raiser during the year for the college, it is certainly one that has made an impact and identifies the great relationships between the faculty, students and community.
“The dutch oven chili cook-off is a great way to connect agriculture to people and a great way to meet people from the community,” Steinbeck said.
-m.l.r@aggiemail.usu.edu