Thank You from the Amherst Lions

Thank you to all who joined us at our 9th Annual Fire & Ice Chili Cookoff, Friday, February 7, at Souhegan High School.  It was a great success on a cold, but fun, night.  Nineteen chili entrants presented their treasured chili receipes and were well received by attendees.   Click here to see the winners.

A special thanks to our primary supporter for this event, Jeffrey Scott Fine Jewelry, who donated the raffle prize, a pearl ring valued at $2.5K, and to our sustaining sponsors: Ponemah Crossing Dental P.C., Budget Blinds of Amherst, Cardoza Flooring, Pneutek, Haywards Family Ice Cream, Gurneys and Amherst Label.   Extra thanks to Scout Troops 22 and 613 for their assistance.  With their support and that of the community, we can continue giving to the sight and hearing impaired and others in need in our local community.

Below is a summary of  the 9th Annual Fire & Ice Chili Cookoff.  Enjoy!

Intergalactic chili went head-to-head with Salt Lake City chili. One-of-a -Kind battled Italian-style 3-bean. And creamy white chicken chili skirmished with Salt Lake City chili, while Taste-It-You-Might Like-It also competed for chili cook-off bragging rights and a hand turned wood spoon.

Those were just six of 19 entrants at the 9^th Annual Fire & Ice Chili Cook-off hosted by the Amherst Lions Club on Feb 7, at Souhegan High School.

They were competing in four categories: People’s Choice, Best Lions Club chili, Judges’ Choice, and new this year, Public Service Heroes. 

At this year’s event, attendees selected last year’s People’s Choice winner Nancy Ferman and Kirk Rogers as their favorite with first-time entry Eddie Barnes voted as a close second favorite. Barnes is a senior at Souhegan High School.

Judges selected Amherst as the best Lions Club Chili (Bruce Manchester) and Hooksett (David Hutchinson) earned a close second place. Both, noted by the judges, were solid, all-around chili recipes. 

Amherst’s Department of Public Works beat out both Fire/Rescue and Police Departments to take best Public Service Heroes chili with the Police taking second. DPW’s Eric Slosek’s chili was noted by judges as having a mild heat with poblano and jalapeno peppers and a strong tomato taste with a little bit of cummin accent. The police used venison, said the judges, which made it a standout.

“The chili that best spoke to me with a beautiful presentation of garnished pepper and parsley was perennial winner Bill Swift,” said Dan DeCourcey, one of the judges and Up In Your Grill pitmaster. The other judges, local foodie Chad Camirand and Amherst Police Chief Tony Ciampoli agreed; resulting in Swift earning first place as Judges Choice. Amherst Financial Group (Logan Pettus) received second with their flavorful sweet heat chili with high marks for creativity in their use of hot honey.

In addition to chili, ticket holders were treated to hot dogs, homemade cornbread, drinks and make-your-own ice cream sundaes.