Chetan Vijayvergiya holds the Chili Cookoff trophy aloft with Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca standing to the right. Vijayvergiya won in the meat category.
Chetan Vijayvergiya’s entry Longshore Love took first place at the Maplewood Chili Cookoff, earning him his fourth title at the annual event.
Each year the Maplewood Chili Cookoff, held at The Woodland, attracts hundreds of people, who come to taste chili, drink wine and beer, and enjoy country music—both live and via DJ.
Recon So performed songs by Slim Whitman, Linda Ronstadt, and Hank Williams, to name a few. And DJ Jen Jone spun country tunes.
The annual event was founded by Maplewood resident Tom Mason. This year’s event was a benefit for Achieve Foundation’s Pollock Arts Initiative, supporting arts education, creative opportunities, and equipment in the South Orange-Maplewood School District (SOMSD).
More than $27,000 was raised through the event.
This year there were 36 chilis to sample, with 26 entered in the meat competition.
James Kompany of Roselle Park had a meat chili entry called The Trifecta.
“Traditional Texas, no beans, no fillers,” he said. “Eighty percent beef and smoked bacon. Sweet with a bit of spice.”
Another meat chili entry was Zlicious Chili, created by twins Zoie and Zada Penick of Lawrenceville. The secret ingredients were sausage and jalapeno.
Maplewood resident John Lu had a veggie chili entry called New Jack Chili made with jack fruit, lentils and mushroom. His daughter Roxy, 13, was in the kid’s competition. Lu said that his family cooks together.
Akshatha Shetty and her mother-in-law Gocori Shetty, created a veggie chili called Monsoon, which won two categories in the competition—Critic’s Choice and third place in the veggie category.
The spices in the chili came from their family’s backyard in South India. All ingredients were fresh, not from a can. The dish was cooked with avocado oil and was sugar-free.
The following are the winners:
Meat category:
• First Place: Longshore Love (Chetan Vijayvergiya)
• Second: Reheated Rivalry (Michael McGarry)
• Third Place: DJ Chili (Jeff Gilligan)
• Fourth Place: Herbed Smoked Brisket (Herb Grice)
• Fifth Place: Chili McGilly (Brendan Cunningham)
Veggie category:
• First Place: Miso Mushroom (Mike Bergemann)
• Second Place: Dessert Chili, Chili Con Cocoa (Eve Hartmann-Crep)
• Third Place: Monsoon (Akshatha Shetty)
Kids Category winner:
• First Place: Jackson’s Jackpot (Jackson)
• Second Runner Up: Trillion Star Chili (Jackson)
• Third Runners Up: Lord of the Beans (Kirill/Marina), How Much (Roxy), and Dinosaur Chili
Critic’s choice, awarded by Everett Presley
• Monsoon (Akshatha Shetty)
• Herbs Smoked Brisket (Herb Grice)
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