Frantically calling their mothers the night before a chili contest, some team members of the Ball State University Democrats were worried their recipes didn't taste like the ones back home. So the team of six was surprised to win the Best Overall award at Ball State's Public Relations Student Society of America Chili Challenge.
Ten teams competed in the 10th annual cook-off held Friday in the David Letterman Communication and Media Building Lobby. This year's theme was "Western Style."
Organizers deemed Chili Challenge a success. The event closed down approximately an hour before schedule because teams ran out of chili. Chili lovers bought a $4 ticket to get all-you-can-eat chili and received a raffle ticket in hopes of winning door prizes. Even Charlie Cardinal and Happy Friday Guy showed up for the event.
The judging panel consisted of Mayor Dennis Tyler; Steve Lindell, WLBC 104.1 radio host; Lori Byers, associate dean of the College of Communication, Information, and Media; Miss Ball State Courtney Jurick; and Chris Wilkey, president of the Student Government Association. They selected winners for the categories of Most Original, Best Costume, Best Vegetarian, Most Spirited and Best Overall.
The six members of BSU Dems, the winners of the Best Overall category, used a modified recipe by Lady Bird Johnson, wife of former President Lyndon Johnson. They renamed the recipe "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," said team member Emily Rodriguez, a sophomore advertising major.
Nolan Born, a senior political science major and BSU Dems president, said the name was a last minute decision they chose as they were setting up for the event. Originally, it was called "The Modified LBJ." After somebody made a joke about switching the name, they decided to stick with it. Not only was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" representative of a major Democratic victory, but it also signified that the chili recipe had a secret ingredient, Born said.
Rodriguez said the primarily meat-based chili consisted of sirloin ground beef, bacon, three different kinds of peppers including, habanera, jalape+â-¦o and sweet peppers, tomatillos (tartared tomatoes used in Mexican cooking), chili powder, onions, cans of tomatoes and "a lot of love."
The winning team learned the recipe approximately three and a half days before the competition. So the night before, while testing the recipes, at least two of the Democrats were on their phones talking to their mothers, Rodriguez said.
"We had some concerns," said Lois Young, a senior political science major and team member. "We were all yelling at each other, saying that it doesn't taste like chili."
This was their first year competing in the Chili Challenge. Another team member, Steve Walsh, a junior communications major, felt the group could take on the challenge of making the best chili on campus.
"I think we proved that today," he said.
Other members of the BSU Dems chili team were freshman business major Erica Walsh and junior political science major Tyler Hempfling.
Other winners included DN Campus Deluxe winning Most Original; Eat More Chikin winning Best Costume; and Cowboys vs. Vegetarians winning Best Vegetarian, as well as Most Spirited.
Iryna Khopta, PRSSA's Chili Challenge publicity chairwoman, noted the event was a huge success and said multiple people loved the chili.
"Everyone got into the costume theme, which was Western style," she said. "One team dressed up as cows and had someone in a chicken costume, because their team was against beef, and they had a sign that read 'Friends don't let friends eat beef.'"
The Cowboys vs. Vegetarians team wore matching shirts and cowboy hats.
The Chili Challenge was a fundraising opportunity for the PRSSA chapter. The event coordinator, Britny Hinsberger, estimated they raised more than $100 from ticket sales and more than $200 total. The total nearly doubled last year's, Hinsberger said, but was more on par with totals in prior years. The exact amount raised was not calculated by Sunday evening when she was asked.
Prizes came from sponsorships donated by local Muncie retailers including T.I.S. Bookstore, Marsh, Papa Murphy's, Lucky Rabbit, Fazoli's, Ashcraft Jewelers, Family Video, McDonald's, IHOP and more.
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