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Fire on Mainstreet 2011

Update on Friday, October 21, 2011 at 11:10AM by [Your Name Here]

Fire on Main Street

Chili Cook-Off Rules

1. CHILI COOKING RULES

1)     CHILI COOKED FROM SCRATCH - "Scratch" is defined as starting with raw meat. No marinating is allowed. Commercial chili powder is permissible, but complete commercial chili mixes ("just add meat" mixes that contain pre-measured spices) are NOT permitted.

2)     TYPE OF CHILI –There will be two categories: red and green.

3)     FILLERS IN CHILI ARE PERMITTED - Beans, macaroni, rice, hominy, or other similar ingredients are permitted.

4)     SANITATION - Cooks are to prepare and cook chili in as sanitary a manner as possible.

5)     COMPLEMENTARY SIDES – If desired, competing groups may bring complementary sides to be samples along with their entered chili (e.g. rice, tortillas, sour cream, cheese, chives or hot sauce).  These sides will not help your chance of winning or be considered in the final judging.  They will only be made available for public sampling.

6)     INSPECTION OF COOKING CONDITIONS - Cooking conditions are subject to inspection by the head judge or his/her designee. (Failure to comply is subject to disqualification.)

1)     A “pot” will be one large electric roaster.

2. CHILI JUDGING RULES

1)     NAME/NUMBER STRIPS - Printed name/number strips affixed to the side of the cup may be used. The strip will have duplicate numbers and will permit a concealed number to be retained on the side of the cup and the name/number portion torn off by the cook.

2)     DUPLICATE NUMBERS - A duplicate set of commercially numbered or hand-numbered "tickets" may be used to prepare the cups. One half of the number ticket will be concealed in an envelope or other wrapping to the side of the cup; the second half of the number ticket will be placed inside the cup.

3)     PROTECTION - Care will be taken by all cup handlers and cooks to avoid damaging cups and/or numbers.

1)     TAMPERING - Any cup that appears to have been marked or altered will be referred to the head judge or coordinator for a ruling concerning disqualification.

2)     DAMAGED CUP - If a cup is damaged, a replacement cup can be obtained from the coordinator only after the head cook turns in the damaged cup and both numbers.

3)     LOST CUP - If a contestant loses a cup or number, a new cup and number can be issued. In this case, the coordinator must sign the new secret number. NOTE: If the number of cups turned in exceeds the number of head cooks registered, the original numbers held by contestants with lost cups become invalid.

4)     CHILI JUDGES - Judging will be done using 3 judges.

5)     JUDGING CRITERIA AND SCORING - A single score takes into consideration the five criteria for scoring chili:

• ·         Aroma
• ·         Consistency
• ·         Red Color
• ·         Taste
• ·         Aftertaste

6)     SCORING - Each cup of chili will be scored on its own merits with a whole number from 0 to 10, 10 being the highest. No pluses (+), minuses (-), fractions (½), or decimals (.5) will be taken into consideration.

7)     EACH CHILI MUST BE SCORED - If a judge determines (by aroma, consistency, and/or color) that he/she does not want to taste a chili, that chili still must be given a score.

1. JUDGING THE CHILI

1)     JUDGING SHEETS - The official Judging Sheet included in the official packet must be used for judging.

2)     TURN-IN TIME - All judging begins at the same time. No chili will be accepted after judging commences. Contestants must be notified at the cooks' meeting of the turn-in time.

3)     CHECKING IN JUDGING CUPS - As cups are turned in, judging official(s) will place cups in boxes or insulated containers large enough to hold at least twelve (12) chilis per container. These boxes or insulated containers must have sufficient height to be above the tops of the chili cups or be covered at all times while in use, except when chilis are being taken in or out.

4)     RANDOMLY SELECT CUPS FOR JUDGING - The coordinator will designate an official or officials (e.g., table monitors) to remove and randomly mix the cups of chili taken in prior to presentation to the tables for judging.

5)     DISQUALIFICATION OF CHILI - Any questions regarding disqualification of a chili will be directed to the coordinator.

6)     CHECK COMPLETENESS OF JUDGING AND SCORE SHEETS – The coordinator will insure that each judge at the table has judged and scored each chili.

7)     TASTING CHILI - Beverages and bite-sized snacks (e.g., crackers, cheese, celery, grapes, etc.) must be supplied to judges to allow them to cleanse their palates between tastes of chili.

8)     SANITATION - A new spoon must be used for each taste of chili.

9)     RETASTING A CHILI - A judge may not re-taste a chili after it has been passed to the next judge.

1. TABULATING RESULTS

1)     TABULATE IN JUDGING AREA - Tabulation must be done in the judging area and overseen by the coordinator. Tabulation must be done by two (2) or more persons. The chili receiving the highest score will be the winner.

2)     MANUAL TABULATION - Use two or more persons to do line addition for each chili (i.e., all scores for chili 1, all scores for chili 2, etc.).

3)     TIE BREAKING - All judges' sheets will be used for tabulating results. If ties result, one judging sheet will be chosen at random to break the ties. If ties are still present, a second sheet will be chosen at random for tie breaking of remaining tied scores. A third or fourth sheet will be used to further break ties, or a tie breaking panel of three judges, who meet the criteria for final judges and who have not judged that day, may also be used.

4)     MARKING WINNING CUPS - When the winning cups have been determined, the place/order of finish must be clearly marked (e.g., "1st”, "2nd”, etc.) on both the cups and the lids.

5)     ANNOUNCING WINNERS – The winners be announced at 1:00 p.m.

6)     CLAIMING AWARDS - Upon the announcement of the winning numbers, cooks must present the signed, matching numbers to claim awards.