Food and drink

Last year’s chilli cook-off at the College Arms, from left landlord Chris Bolton, Debbie Adams and Jon Doody
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Heat is on for Chilli Cook-Off

By Linda Fort
March 26, 2012

Plans are hotting up for the next Chilli Cook-Off in Reading and the organiser expects it to be bigger, better and spicier this year.

Jon Doody ran Reading’s first chilli cook-off last August and it was a red hot success. Now Mr Doody is making plans to take the chilli contest to the Tilehurst Residents’ and Community Association Diamond Jubilee Festival on Saturday, June 2.

The 43-year-old chilli enthusiast from Albany Road, West Reading, will be bringing the contest to Prospect Park, Liebenrood Road, from 10am with the judging taking place at 2pm.

Competitors must bring all they need to cook their chilli recipe, including appropriate outdoor cooking gear, and they have four hours to make a memorable dish.

Last year Mr Doody’s niece Charlotte, 16, from Milton Keynes won.

Once again judges will include Hilary Scott, deputy editor of the Reading Post and getreading, Ethiopian chef Tutu Melaku, and James Timmons, who works with Mr Doody at Capita.

The top prize will be £250.

Mr Doody said: “Last year we held the first chilli cook-off at the College Arms, in Wokingham Road, and it was a great venue, but this year we want to expand and see more people taking part. We need a bigger space so the park is ideal.”

As part of the expansion, there will be chilli plants, chilli seeds and chilli sauces on sale on the day.

Mr Doody, an analyst programmer, has been cooking chilli since he was 15. He became aware of the chilli cook-off phenomenon in America – they even have one in The Simpsons – and he thought Reading ought to have its own.

The afternoon will also include chilli-related dance displays of zumba and salsa.

And for those with an iron constitution and asbestos taste buds, there will be a chilli pepper eating competition.

All of the rules for this year’s contest can be found at www.chilligonebarmy.com and you can enter by emailing chillimaster@chilligonebarmy.com.

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Most recent user comments 14 of 14

Thanks Snake. Really appreciate your kind comments. Looks like word is spreading and we now have double the amount of teams we had last year. I'm pretty sure we are now the biggest Chilli cook-off in the country and will aim to keep it that way for years to come. Hope to see you down there on the day. Would be good to meet.

PS I try to wear the hat as much as possible. It is a babe magent. Bit difficult to get under the crash helmet sometimes though! ;)

Blue Doodles, West Reading
03/04/2012 at 08:14

Doodles, I may have falsely led you to believe the experience was naff, far from it. Apart from the extremely hot offerings (Which seems to be how Texas folk like it) there was plenty of suitable fare to sample.

My brother gave me the hottest kind so he could see me turn a deep violet and drink the equivalent of the Thames to cool my mouth. which is best done with sour cream on a cracker, as I also found out.

Wish you success and may this become a family occasion to river everything else that is great about Reading.

Tell me, i know that tash is fake but do you often wear that hat???

The Racing Snake
03/04/2012 at 00:17

Hey Snake! Sounds like you had a pretty naff experience over there. Whilst I love hot food, I can't stand heat over flavour. I would much rather eat something that has wonderful flavours and aromas rather than something that blows your head off. The entries last year were unbelievably good and completely reflected that ideal. Real quality ingredients, prepared and executed with passion from some very talented cooks. The beauty of chilli is that there isn't a set recipe. There are so many different takes on it, resulting in a wonderful array of dishes. The feedback we had from people sampling the chilli from all the teams was marvellous. I was chuffed to bits to be able to have all these wonderful teams there, most of whom are returning this year. If you come down on the day, I'm sure we'll convince you that our UK chilli knocks the socks off anything you tried over the pond. Hope to see you there my friend!

Blue Doodles, West Reading
29/03/2012 at 09:00

I went to visit my brother over in the US last year and he decided it would be funny to take me to a Texas chili cook off, well I sniffed the first offering and burnt the hairs on the inside of my nostrils, won't be doing that again.

So doody doodle do, are these chili's of the same intense heat???

The Racing Snake
28/03/2012 at 22:45

Hi Martin, no marquee. It was a little windy last year and in fact it did rain for the first 30 mins, however eneryone's (well rooted) gazebos faired very well. The rest of the day was glorious. The Reading Carnival has coped absolutely fine for 35 years, so we don't see it being an issue. In any case, I've ordered beautiful sunshine and a light breeze for the festival weekend... ;)

Blue Doodles, West Reading
28/03/2012 at 08:47

thanks mr doody, erm, doodles ;)

bodgerbodgerbodger
28/03/2012 at 08:46

So is there a big marquee being set up to cook in?

If contestants bring gezabos and camping gas stoves it could turn into a real disaster if it is windy.

MartinD, Tilehurst
28/03/2012 at 00:18

Thanks for the reply, pity I cant work out how many hours 10am-2pm is ;)

Spanky
27/03/2012 at 14:49

So to confirm, cooking is between 10am and 2pm - 4 hours in total. Judging sample to be taken at 2pm for judging at around 2.15pm. Hope that explains it better.

Blue Doodles, West Reading
27/03/2012 at 14:39

Well spotted Spanky! Judging was at 4pm last year. It's 2pm this year. There's an error on the site. Which I shall fix accordingly! Be good to have you on board!!

Blue Doodles, West Reading
27/03/2012 at 14:29

Doodles, can I ask for clarification on the rules? (Let me know if you would prefer me to email in).

One bit says "Cooking will take place from 10am to 2pm at which time samples will be gathered for judging."

Another bit says "Each contestant is responsible for turning in his or her filled cup to the judging area by 4pm."

What happens between 2pm and 4pm? I ask as 2 hours would be a very quick cook time for my chilli :)

Spanky
27/03/2012 at 14:21

No shock here doodles ;) Just working out if it is a goer for me to enter!

Spanky
27/03/2012 at 14:12

The judging last year and indeed this year will be completely anonymous. The judges score each chilli on it's merits. Each chilli is judged on 5 different categories, worth a total of 50 points. They have no idea whose chilli they are judging and scores are added up by an independant adjudicator. So, BBB, in answer to your question, yes, everyone is judged exactly the same.........and I guess I've just outed myself.