I wanted to start this blog post with a quick definition of what chili is. It turns out, that’s a little bit complicated. Originally, chili is from Texas. According to the internet, Texas chili is made with meat and chili peppers. This was a little surprising to me, as every dish I have ever seen described as chili has been tomato based, and usually contained beans. So, it would seem that there is chili-one specific dish with a set ingredient list, originating from Texas, and then there is “chili”-a general category of foods containing a lot of different recipes for meat and or vegetable stew type things.

I don’t eat meat, so the only chili I can eat is from the latter category-imposter chili. I have almost never eaten chili, as most of the chilies I have encountered in my life have been meat based. Discovering that the Ithaca Chili Cook Off had vegetarian and vegan judging categories was exciting for me, as it meant getting to try a type of food I have rarely experienced before.

The first chili I tried was from Ithaca Soy Company. It was, of course, a tofu chili. The chili itself tasted good, but I’m not sure how much the tofu added to the experience. For those of you who haven’t eaten it, tofu is essentially flavorless, and soaks up the flavoring of whatever it is seasoned with / marinated in / cooked in. In chili, the tofu did not announce its presence to me either by taste or texture. If I were making chili myself, I would probably leave the tofu out. Beans are also a good source of meatless protein, and I liked the texture of beans in the chilis I tried considerably more than the tofu.

Of the chilis I tried, my favorite had some of the most unconventional ingredients. This chili included corn and spinach. (I wasn’t really looking at who the vendors were, or ingredient lists – I kind of just wanted to experience the chili without any preconceived notions). The only chili I did not like was, ironically, from my favorite take-out restaurant. This chili contained what appeared to be raisins, which for me was a bridge to far. Chili can be unconventional, but not that unconventional.

While my primary interest was the food, I also enjoyed the Chili Cook Off. The event was a nice way to get local businesses together to compete. I would definitely attend again.

I have also heard that Ithaca holds a chowder cook off, which I am now really looking forward to. That said, I am from New England, and I’m not sure how much I would enjoy people messing with my culinary heritage, rather than Texas.