On a cold day, Winona residents had the opportunity to sample 19 businesses\u2019 chili recipes at the 22nd Annual Chili Cook-off at Winona Middle School.<\/p>\n
Winona National Bank sponsored the event, with all profits being donated to the Winona local charity Ready, Set, School.<\/p>\n
Ready, Set, School is a non-profit organization that gives families that can\u2019t afford school related supplies the money to do so, in a form of a voucher.<\/p>\n
According to the Ready, Set, School website, the company provided 1,159 vouchers to 105 students.<\/p>\n
Jenny Baertsch, the Marketing Communications Officer and Secretary on the board of Ready, Set, School said the chili cook-off is the company\u2019s largest event and the beginning of fundraising events this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe use this as kind of the platform to get people excited again and ready to donate,\u201d Baertsch said. \u201cThroughout the rest of the year, up until the summer months when kids are shopping for school supplies, we do different partnerships with businesses in town where businesses will donate 10 percent of their sales to Ready, Set, School for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those businesses, according to Baertsch are: Bloedows, Lakeview Drive In, Godfather\u2019s Pizza, and Green Mill.<\/p>\n
The cook-off raised $5,086.69 dollars, with $2,976.69 coming in sales and $2,110.00 coming in donations. Baertsch said the event raised $4,629.80, hoping that they would be able to come close to last year\u2019s results.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year we raised about $4,000 dollars,\u201d Baertsch said. \u201cSo if we can match that or raise more, I\u2019ll be really happy about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Baertsch, 35 percent of Winona County come from families that can\u2019t afford school supplies with that money being able to support more families than last year.<\/p>\n
The cook-off had 19 varieties of chili donated by: Bluff Country Co-op, Brewski\u2019s Pub & Eatery, Bub\u2019s Brewing Company, Chartwell\u2019s at WSU, Ground Round, Jefferson\u2019s Pub & Grill, Kwik Trip Store #746 Homer Road, Lewiston-Altura Intermediate School, North End Pub & Grill, Riverway Learning Community, Signatures Restaurant, Steak Shop Catering, Steak Shop Catering at Cotter Schools, Sugar Loaf Senior Living, Timbers Restaurant, Winona Area Public Schools, and Winona Health Catering.<\/p>\n
At the event, the first major decision that needed to be made for Winona residents was to try spicy or mild.<\/p>\n
One of the residents at the event was Jerry Zettler, who ate five out of the eight spicy chilis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m picking the Chartwells,\u201d Zettler said. \u201cThen it\u2019s probably the North End. Overall, I like the texture and the taste.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the mild side was Miss Winona Brittany Moncrief, who donated her time by cleaning tables and helping serve people. Moncrief said the consistency of the chili was important to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the Winona Health one,\u201d Moncrief said. \u201cThere were some that were more (like liquid) than others, there were some that were thicker than others, and that one was just perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another volunteer at the event was part-time Winona National Bank employee Bob Benedict, a first time volunteer, said he jumped at the chance to help at the cook-off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy this, doing stuff like this in the community,\u201d Benedict said. \u201cThey said they needed volunteers and I said I\u2019d love to help serve and talk to people.\u201d<\/p>\n
As far as chili goes, Benedict enjoys the spicier chili, but there was perspiration involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sampled three of them,\u201d Benedict said. \u201cMy favorite probably is the one from Chartwells, it was thicker, meatier chili. I had a little bit of tears and sweat on my forehead when I was eating it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Winona National Bank has always sponsored the event itself since it\u2019s beginning, Baertsch said, but began with a partnership with the Winona County D.A.R.E. program.<\/p>\n
Baertsch said the Ready, Set, School has been sponsored by Winona National Bank as well since it\u2019s beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe helped get the program up and running,\u201d Baertsch said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been a strong supporter of their mission and in the past, ten to 12 years, the chili cook-off has been benefiting Ready, Set, School.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the past, Baertsch said individual chili recipes could be submitted, that didn\u2019t come from a business, but due to food licensing laws, they can\u2019t be accepted anymore.<\/p>\n
Residents were able to enjoy entertainment from the Winona Fiddlers and other local student groups.<\/p>\n
For the event, a panel of judges was brought in to taste the different chili, deciding which one would win for the spicy and mild categories.<\/p>\n
The judges chose Riverway Learning Community, Bluff Country Co-op, and Jefferson\u2019s chili for the mild category and Sugar Loaf Senior Living, North End Pub & Grill, and Signatures for the spicy category.<\/p>\n
The most coveted award, according to Baertsch is the Public Tasters\u2019 Choice Award, where the public is able to vote on the best overall chili between mild and spicy.<\/p>\n
As far as Baertsch\u2019s taste buds go, she avoids anything too spicy.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite personally was from the mild category,\u201d Baertsch said. \u201cI\u2019m a mild girl. I liked the chili submitted by Winona Area Public Schools.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On a cold day, Winona residents had the opportunity to sample 19 businesses\u2019 chili recipes at the 22nd Annual Chili Cook-off at Winona Middle School. Winona National Bank sponsored the event, with all profits being donated to the Winona local charity Ready, Set, School. Ready, Set, School is a non-profit organization that gives families that … Continue reading Winona Chili Cookoff<\/span>