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Chili Cook off Winner is... Cinnamon Roll?

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt Vincent De Groot
  • 185 ARW Wing PA
185 ARW Sioux City, IA --  The winner of the 185th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) 2012 chili contest is...who ever made the cinnamon rolls. All of the contest judges agreed, the rolls were a winner.

As far as the chili goes the winners of the contest were teams from Military Personnel Flight and Supply. In a close second place was a team from Security Forces. A distinguished panel of judges faced with nine different selections of chili deliberated for only a short time before announcing a tie for first place. Surrounded by small disposable desert cups filled with a pleather of chili, a cross section of 185th airman and officers were mainly concerned with "taste" when they were judging.

When asked what makes a good chili, the judges announced almost in unison and with very matter of fact looks on their faces "it should taste good".

While some preferences differ from judge to judge they did share some takeaways on what a good chili should be. It should be thick, one judge preferred Chili beans over kidney beans, and it should look like chili, should contain finely chopped onions and have tender meat. The majority of judges also preferred red chili over white chili. All of the judges agreed that a good chili should not be too spicy.

After the judging, the base dining facility quickly filled with 185th unit members who gathered together for a bowl of chili and an award winning cinnamon roll for a modicum fee of five dollars.

The annual 185th chili contest has been going on since 2001 and has teams competing mostly for bragging rights and a 5 gallon gas can that doubles a traveling trophy. The real winner however of the annual contest is the Combined Federal Campaign. All proceeds from the contest go towards the annual fund raiser where federal civilian and military donors support eligible non-profit organizations that provide services throughout the world.