Family and Friends at the 17th Annual Rome Chili Cook-Off

Rome’s 17th Annual Chili Cook-off was this past Saturday, October 13th. Winners for the four categories are as follows. Cooks choice: Dog Pound Chili represented by Jason Griggs (winner of same category last year). People’s Choice: Fat Pat and Tubbies. Best Cook Site: River City Antique Mall; and lastly Judges Choice: Hubey’s Chili represented by Robert Jonston, Toby Holsomack, Steve Deems and Wade Floyd.

No matter the winner, Rome’s Chili Cook-off is an opportunity for people in the area to get together around good food. Sam Kight and his friends Ben Curry, Matt Stephens and Matt Little with Southeastern Chili represent this opportunity. This year’s cook-off was their first competition, and even though they did not place in any of the categories and admit their chili has “nothing special but hunks of steak”, so says Mr. Kight, it was worth doing. He went on to say,

“Ben and I decided we should just try it out, although we almost didn’t do this cook-off. All of us had to work a full day Friday, but felt we should take the chance and have fun, meet people and try good chili.”

Their tent was full of family and friends just like many of their “competitors” that are, and have been, a part of the Chili Cook-off in Rome for 17 years.