🌶️ Texas Chili Isn’t Just Food… It’s a Competitive Sport.
Every year, hundreds of chili cook-offs are held across Texas. In fact, the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) sanctions nearly 400 qualifying cook-offs each year, all leading to one ultimate prize—the Terlingua International Chili Championship in the tiny ghost town of Terlingua. (CASI)
It all started as a joke.
In 1967, Texas newspaper columnist Frank X. Tolbert challenged New York humorist H. Allen Smith to settle one important question:
Who makes the best chili… Texans or New Yorkers?
The first cook-off featured just two cooks and three judges. The judges couldn’t agree, and the contest ended in a draw. What began as a publicity stunt has since become one of the most famous food competitions in the world, drawing thousands of spectators to the West Texas desert every November. (A Bowl of Red)
🤠 Strange Texas Chili Contest Rules
🌶️ No beans. In traditional Texas Red, beans are forbidden.
🥄 Blind judging. Judges never know whose chili they’re tasting.
🏕️ Cook it on-site. Most contests require the chili to be prepared at the event.
🚫 No identifying marks. Competitors can’t decorate or label their judging cups.
🥩 Beef is king. Traditional Texas competition chili focuses on meat and chile peppers—not vegetables.
🌶️ By the Numbers
• Nearly 400 CASI-sanctioned cook-offs each year.
• Around $1 million is raised annually for charities through CASI events.
• Thousands of competitors and spectators make the pilgrimage to Terlingua every November.
• The original Terlingua championship has been a Texas tradition for nearly 60 years. (CASI)
One question settles debates faster than almost anything else in Texas…
Beans or no beans? 😄