Wolfhead Distillery holds Second Annual outdoor chili fest

Hot and spicy or savory and sweet.

No matter how you prefer your chili, there were a lot of different recipes to try Sunday afternoon at the Wolfhead Distillery’s Second Annual Chili Festival.

Held outside at its location on Howard Ave. in Amherstburg, it was hosted by Border City BBQ.

Rob and Sons from Windsor were one of the eight entries and according to Rob Coyle, his mixture contained Spanish onion, jalapeno, tomatoes and breakfast sausage, just to name a few of the ingredients.

“The fat makes it juicy and it adds a really neat flavour,” of using sausages.

One of his two sons, Wyatt was busy at the smoker that was heated by wood. All of those who were making chili were doing it either by using a smoker or an open fire. Wyatt said they prefer to use hickory to heat the smoker.

Zlatko Rozanhovic was at an open fire and had a big cauldron filled with chili. His job all afternoon was to keep the fire going and stir the huge kettle.

One of the best parts of tasting the chili was that many of the entrants had a little something extra such as nacho chips, corn bread or in the case of Rob and Sons a mashed potato bite that, when mixed with the chili itself satisfied the palate in a big way.

“We started Border City BBQ Masters about a year-and-a-half ago,” said event host Greg Medel who partners with Derek Sylvestre.

He explained that they put on BBQ competitions for those who are in Windsor-Essex and most recently held a pulled pork and ribs and chicken cookoff at the Sportsmen’s Club in Windsor. No matter what is being made, it is always done outside either with a smoker or open fire.

“The smoked chili tastes better. You can really notice the difference, it’s either done with charcoal or wood,” explained Medel.

Medel said that as many as 30 different teams wanted to enter the Second Annual Chili Fest at Wolfhead but they opted to limit it to eight for space reasons.

The weather co-operated in a big way on Sunday afternoon and it was expected to surpass last year’s attendance of 1,100.

Those who paid the $25 fee to taste the chili were given a sheet of stickers that they could peel and place at their favorite booth. At the end of the day, a People’s Choice Award was selected. Musical entertainment was provided by Two Track Mind Jazz.

Wolfhead Distillery holds Second Annual outdoor chili fest

By Fred Groves