West Michigan Weekly

It's Chili In January
Annual Chili Cook-off and Wine Lover’s Potluck

During the bitter cold of winter, on January 23rd, the chill is going to thaw at Fenn Valley’s eleventh annual Chili Cook-off. Last year over 350 people gathered to enjoy some fine wine and taste the chilies and other great appetizers. This year we are again challenging you to dust-off your soup pot, and bring your secret recipe out to compete for the awards of Best Chili in each category. For those of you who do not wish to participate in the cookoff, we invite you to bring an appetizer to be included in our “wine lover’s potluck”.

We have changed the categories - they are based on the type of meat, if any, used in the recipe. Instead of Red, White, and Vegetarian, we have "Four Legs", "Two Legs", and "No Legs" as the categories. The color does not matter. Hopefully this new system will make the judging easier and more consistent.

Contestants must register their chilies between 1:00 and 2:00 pm. The judging will begin at 2:00 sharp and should be concluded by 3:00 pm. We are fortunate to have been able to secure the talents of some local chefs and instructors from the culinary arts school of Grand Rapids Community College to serve as our panel of judges.

For those non-contestants, the “wine lover’s potluck” will begin at 2:00 pm. During the potluck, everyone will be able to enjoy the chilies from the cook-off, the appetizers provided by the noncontestants, and a selection of new wines from the past vintage.

We are also pleased to include the musical talents of Natchez Trace for your enjoyment. They play classic popular favorites and have performed at a number of our Summer Evening Cookouts and Open House events during the past three or four years. The cost of admission will be either a chili entry per family, or a favorite appetizer for the potluck.

We will be making some of our newest wines available for your enjoyment: Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Meritage 2008, and the Vignoles Reserve 2008.

1:00 - 2:00 Register chili entries

2:00 - 5:00 "Wine Lovers Potluck"

2:00 - 4:30 Natchez Trace plays