Two hours before the opening of Sunday’s Public Safety Chili Cook-Off at the rodeo grounds, nearly two dozen teams were busy preparing their entries in the annual competition for top honors. The smell of simmering spices filled the air while participants put the final touches on their booths.
Over in the northeast section of the Yew Wood Corral, a competitive rivalry between three law enforcement agencies added to the atmosphere. The Philomath Police Department reintroduced its traditional Texas no-bean chili. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office team went heavy on the bacon as a key ingredient. And the Corvallis Police threw in all kinds of meat while trying to balance sweet and spicy.
Said Don Rogers, BCSO undersheriff while motioning toward the three teams, “There’s a lot of smack talk between the canopies.”
Bragging rights have been hotly contested in recent years with Corvallis Police taking home the People’s Choice Award in both 2023 and 2024 — a streak that hasn’t gone unnoticed by their competitors.
“Of course, we accused them of cheating,” quipped Ken Rueben, retired Philomath police chief and a main organizer of the event, which is co-sponsored by the Philomath Police Foundation and Benton County Sheriff’s Office Foundation. “They have the biggest department, so if all of their people show up and vote, they’re going to win. So we dog them for that.”
Rueben bears the brunt of the ongoing accusations.
“When I was still chief, we’d be at a meeting and the first question would be, ‘Hey, how bad did you cheat on the chili cook-off?’ Or, ‘Did you use Hormel chili as your base?’” Rueben recalled. “But it’s funny how this one event causes that camaraderie all year.”
And that’s the bottom line with the annual event. In reality, the three law-enforcement agencies are just having fun.
Corvallis Police Ofc. Phil Costa stirs the team’s “Blazin’ Badges” chili. (Photo by Brad Fuqua/Philomath News)
“I think it’s more about the friendly banter back and forth,” Philomath Police Chief Dave Gurski said. “In the Law Enforcement division, we’re all pretty competitive people just by nature, so it’s about the bragging rights.”
The preparation for Sunday’s showdown began the prior afternoon for some teams. Gurski and Sgt. Brandon Thurman set up their grills and smoker and then returned early Sunday with Ofc. Blake Bowers to begin the lengthy cooking process.
“We didn’t get finished browning the beef until 9:30,” Gurski said, adding that they used 56 pounds of ground beef in the 10-gallon batch. “Once we got that done, it was just a matter of timing when we added our spices to the rest of the ingredients.”
BCSO’s Kevin Higgins stirs the team’s “Baconator” entry. (Photo by Brad Fuqua/Philomath News)
Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s Office team was putting finishing touches on its “Baconator Chili” — a creation that Rogers described as “a little spicy, not too bad — we backed off a little bit this year.”
Not to be outdone, Corvallis Police switched up their winning formula this year.
“We’re doing something different — it’s got burger, it’s got bacon, it’s got bratwurst in it,” Police Chief Jason Harvey said. “It’s a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy.”
Ofc. Phil Costa was selected as the CPD team captain and several others from within the department contributed to the effort.
“Theirs is real soupy this year,” he said. “I’m curious if it’s gonna thicken up or not. You might need a straw.”
Rogers also suggested there might be some hometown favoritism at play.
“I think there’s some manipulation by PPD on the scoring,” he said. “Ken’s got a lot of influence, so we have to overcome that.”
The trash talk was flowing as freely as the chili samples. Rogers couldn’t resist taking a jab at Philomath.
Rueben’s response was swift and diplomatic.
“Well, when you’ve come in last place and you’re the loser, it’s easy to point at the winner and accuse him of cheating,” he said.
Retired Philomath police chief Ken Rueben has been the event’s main organizer since it moved to Philomath in 2019. (Photo by Brad Fuqua/Philomath News)
Harvey admitted that it’s super competitive.
“When we have the awards ceremony at the end, we’ll all be standing up there and waiting to see who gets the awards,” he said. “I’ve been pretty proud the last couple of years. It’s been great.”
The sheriff’s team featured Rogers and Kevin Higgins, Benton County Special Services manager, on cooking duty.
“When we first started making our chili, Kevin made a batch and I made a batch and then we tasted it to figure out which one we liked better,” Rogers said. “Kevin’s was better so we use that one and then every year we evaluate it — was it too hot, do we need to spice it up a bit or take it down a notch? It’s the basic same recipe but we tweak it a little bit.”
In the end, none of the “management” teams won a first-place award. Philomath Police had the top finish among those three with second place in the Law Enforcement division.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office had three other departmental teams competing and one of those did claim the top honor in the Law Enforcement division. BCSO Jail was first and behind PPD in third was Corvallis Police.
La Rockita’s “El Chile” was the winner of the People’s Choice Award. (Photo by Eric Niemann)
The People’s Choice Award went to La Rockita, which also won the Restaurants division. In the Community Partners division, Civil Air Patrol was the winner with Active 911 second and RV Corral third. Philomath Frolic and Rodeo won for Best Decorations.
Despite the competitive atmosphere, all participants emphasized that the event’s true value lies in community engagement. BCSO Sheriff Jef Van Arsdall, who made it to the event after flying in from an Alaskan trip that same morning, put the competition in perspective.
“It is competitive, but at the end of the day, I don’t care who gets the trophy,” Van Arsdall said. “I just know that we get an opportunity to be out there in front of the community, not in uniform, and not doing what we normally do.”
For Rogers, the community interaction is the highlight of his year.
“In my position where I get to do more community outreach and see the kids come by and the family members, it’s just a positive interaction with the community,” he said.
The event’s popular raffle brought in $4,887. (Photo by Brad Fuqua/Philomath News)
Harvey echoed that sentiment.
“Any time we can get out and connect with people, we take advantage of that,” Harvey said. “I don’t pass up the opportunities.”
The event serves multiple purposes beyond community relations.
“They’re not only great for building relationships within the community but also with our law-enforcement partners and then the businesses and the restaurants,” Gurski said. “It’s a great event that brings us all together.”
Rueben reported that total paid attendance came in at 996 with a total participation of 1,091 — a number that also includes team members, vendors and others. A popular raffle brought in $4,887.
All proceeds from the event benefit the 4 Spirits Veterans Scholarship Fund, which helps veterans pay for classes at Western Oregon University.
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Dining and Cooking