Chili for charity

Stanley Hudson once said, “I wake up every morning in a bed that’s too small … and then I got to work to a job for which I get paid too little. But on pretzel day… well, I like pretzel day.” There are a lot of days in which I feel like Stanley from “The Office.” I’m paying too much for school and sometimes I feel like I don’t get any breaks. But on Wednesday Jan. 28, there was chili day.

Ten different Campus Auxiliary Services chefs prepared 10 unique chilis for students to sample. Whoever made the best chili would have their chili made and served across campus on Feb. 1 for Super Bowl Sunday. The cook-off raised money for the Geneseo-Groveland Food Bank.

There was plenty of variety amongst the competitors. To start, the vegetarian chili was excellent. Normally, I align with Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation” when it comes to consuming foods: “I need five courses for dinner and each course will be steak.” Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting a lot. The chili, however, had a full taste, a solid kick and a good mix of vegetables. The different textures matched up well and formed a very delicious chili.

Another notable chili was the Texas Sweet & Spicy. Very different than the vegetarian chili, this version was much more savory than any of the others in the competition. This chili was one of three that earned five out of five possible points on my ranking sheet. It had a variety of flavors and has the potential to please the vast majority of students come Super Bowl Sunday.

One chili that caught me off guard was the BBQ Chicken. The chef noted that it wasn’t BBQ in flavor as much as how the chicken was prepared. He smoked the chicken before adding in the spices and other ingredients necessary to make the chili. Although I was expecting a more southern-style, traditional BBQ taste, the chili did not disappoint. It tasted like … well, chili. Because the chicken was smoked, it went very well with the traditional chili spices and made for a unique combination unlike any other chili in the competition.

I almost felt bad that I got 10 free mini cups of chili for a tiny donation of whatever spare money I had in my pocket. But still, regardless of which chili wins, CAS will be getting money from me on Super Bowl Sunday.