The competition was fierce at St. William Catholic Church in Guntersville on Wednesday night as they held their third annual Chili Cook-Off, with seventeen unique recipes entered.
“This is our third year doing the cook-off,” Director of Religious Education Debra Still, who organized the event alongside Administrator Laura Hodge, said. “We thought it was a way to get people together and have a good time and a little competition, it really took off. Our first year we had thirty-seven entries, this time we had seventeen and there are some really delicious and unique chilis here.”
Winners were decided in a blind taste test by a panel of judges led by Jeff Still, with each judge casting a vote for their favorite. The winner of the contest was Sandy Whitaker with a classic style chili, but there was also a People’s Choice winner selected as guests were asked to vote on their favorite. The People’s Choice award was presented to CPA Georgianne Graves, who brought in a white chicken chili.
“You cook the chicken with the spices on, shred it and add it in with the white beans, onions, garlic and chicken broth,” Graves said. “It’s something you could make after work if you had roasted the chicken the night before, it’s really simple. My husband made a chili last year while I helped with cleaning up and everything but this year I said I was going to make a chili and so we both had one in the competition. He said everyone was going to love it and I’m so glad everyone came out to the church.”
Guests who wanted to come and take part in the meal, which included not just all the different chilis but desserts and other snacks, were asked to bring in a food item that could be donated to the church’s food pantry.
St. Williams holds food giveaways through the pantry every Tuesday and people can come receive items once a month, though if there is a need they will work to meet it. The church also makes home visits and provides a variety of assistances and has seen a spike in the number of people using the pantry. Still says that they are always accepting donations for the pantry and staple items like canned food and toiletries are especially needed.
“People have been incredibly generous throughout the month of November and it looks like they are still being generous in December.” Still said. “We went from twenty-three people that we were serving on a Tuesday night to seventy-one and luckily I had a lot of confirmation students turn up to help volunteer.”
During the cook-off the church was also hosting the Marshall County Homeless Ministries’ Room at the Inn, a county-wide program that provides meals and a warm place to stay during the four coldest months of the year. Churches in the county take turns hosting the event, with St. Williams taking the first Wednesday of each month. Guests with the program are invited to take part in whatever event the church has planned for the night as well, such as the Chili Cook-Off and their upcoming Mardi Gras party in February.
St. William Catholic Church is located in Guntersville at 929 Gunter Avenue, and anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic church is welcome to attend one of the OCIA classes led by Father Mark Spruill on Wednesdays at either 10 am or 6 pm. There are also videos of past lessons available on the church’s website at stwilliamchurch.com.
Dining and Cooking