Cayman gears up for Chili Cook-Off
(CNS): Lots of teams have signed up for the Caybrew International Chili Cook-Off tomorow, Saturday 22 March, both amateur and professional chefs from some of the island's top restaurants, including Karma, Cayman Cabana, George Town Yacht Club, Grand Cayman Beach Suites, Craft, Surf Side, Lone Star. There will be tons of raffle prizes, including some "bad ass BBQ grills" and airline tickets, according to Marketing Manager Matthew Leslie. The culinary competition is being hosted on Seven Mile Beach between the Lone Star Bar And Grill (the location for the original Chili Cook -Off) and Buckingham Plaza – the old entry way to the Hyatt. Gates open from noon until 8pm. Attendees will pay $20, and they will get a wristband and five chili pots to sample the competing chilis. They can also purchase more chili pots to sample more chili.
The CayBrew International Chili Cook off is sanctioned by the International Chili Society (ICS) and the winning team will get an all-expense paid trip to one of the finals of the regional competition. There will also be prizes for the second and third placed teams, as well as raffle prizes for people who come to enjoy the festivities and taste some of the delicious chili recipes in the competition.
The category is “Home-style chili”, which is very broad. Teams up to four people can enter and the entry fee is $100, which also gets the team registered with ICS.
As well as first, second and third place for the chili recipes, there will be a People’s Choice Award, Best Booth and the winner gets an all-expense paid trip to one of the chili finals
Sponsors include Cayman Airways, the Department of Tourism, Home Gas Ltd, Uncle Bill's and also Red Bull. Hurley’s Supermarket is the official Food Sponsor and all the teams that are registered will get gift certificates to do their shopping for the competition at Hurley’s.
The media sponsors for this event are Cayman News Service and CNS Business and attendees can get a “$5 off voucher” by going on either of those websites and printing off one voucher (see attached) for each person coming.
Kidz Zone is raising funds for the West Bay Primary PTA and there will be prizes and games for the kids, including the all-imporant bouncing castle.
To enter or for more information, call 947-6699 or email CaybrewCookoff@cib.ky.
Category: Local News
As a participant of this event, I found the planning to be in great need of improvement. 8 am to start preperation is ridiculous and they didn't announce the winner until 7 pm!!! Made for a long day in the excruciating heat! Not many people were in the mood to eat chili at 1 pm. Plus the fact that people had to pay CI$20 to enter and were only given 5 sampling tickets was even more ridicuous.. we ended up giving chili away after making 12 gallons of the stuff after an email from the organizer advising that 'we were to expect hundreds of people'. There was little to no advertising for the event which is unfortunate as we spent a pretty penny gearing up and there was no clean up station as promised in order to follow up with 'DOA strict health regulations' !!!
The Chili cook-off has great potential as it really could be as good as it used to be but needs dire improvement… was incredibly disappointing from a participant and event goer's perspective.
I was also a participant in the event and feel the opposite.
You said preperations was from 8am. Well that is a lie. They opened the gates and asked the teams to get in for 12pm and I got there at 11am with my team and got at it.
There was washing stations on both sides of the booths under the white tents. Maybe you were too blind to see it. I was actually impressed with the pump system they had for the water to wash and clean your hands.
$20 was a fair price. I am sure the event was not cheap as they had alot of equipment including a kids area as well as providing each team with a tent, tables and chairs and lighting at their cost. Also my friends paid $15 because they used the coupon from this very same website.
And for promotion WHERE DO YOU LIVE IDIOT?? All I have seen and heard the last couple weeks is chili cook off and yes there was hundreds of people that came through.
Sounds to me like you were one of the teams that did not win. A sore loser. Do not enter the competition next year. My team did not win anything but we had a blast and will enter again next year. If you made 12 gallons and never ran out like the rest of us did then that just shows your chili sucked sorry!
Maybe so people can go to the bank to get twenty dollars for their bowl of chilli
Yep, it was HOT! In years past, the entrants could begin setting up their booth at noon and couldn't begin cooking their chili until 3. Then the gates opened at 5 for the public. Maybe a return to that timeframe would be better. Just sayin' ……….
Why is this being done in the middle of the day? surely early evening into the night would be better – temperature wise and attendance? people are usually busy on Saturday's doing the errands they can't get to during the week but are always looking for evening entertainment.
Just a thought..
Because Saturday night is food shopping night.
No MLA's allowed, enough hot air coming out of them already!