So, your chili is the best chili ever, huh? Well, prove it, darlin! Sorry for the late notice, but I just found out that the Kentucky Derby Festival is holding a Derby Chili Challenge right now!
Coordinated by the Kentucky Derby Festival, the Kentucky Beef Council, and Kroger, this homemade chili contest is open to the public. All recipe entries must be original, must contain completely browned and cooked beef, and cannot involve any pasta, but the possibilities for flavor creativity are pretty endless from there!
If you are a media personality, there is a separate competition with a prize of $500 towards the charity of your choice. I just entered, and you should, too!
The submission period began on the 4th and goes until the 16th (this Sunday!). The finalists will be announced on Monday, the 17th, and these folks will be invited to a chili cook-off at the Middletown Kroger (12501 Shelbyville Rd.) on the morning of September 19th to determine the winner.
The judges will be the KDF President and CEO, Mike Berry, the Producer of Thunder Over Louisville, Wayne Hettinger, and two reps from Kroger and the Kentucky Beef Council.
The winning recipe will be featured in 60 Kroger stores in Louisville and Lexington during October, which is National Chili Month, and the winner will receive a Kroger gift card, a Kentucky Beef Council prize pack, and 4 VIP tickets to Thunder over Louisville and Kroger’s Fest-A-Ville on the Waterfront! Also, the winning chili will be part of the Thunder over Louisville Command Center crew’s “Gas Up for Thunder” lunch. (Does anyone else find that title amusing in association with a chili cook-off? Perhaps I've seen Blazing Saddles one too many times...)
For a list of the very important rules and to submit your recipe, go to www.kdf.org
Good luck!
