Champion chili cooks battle for top honors

Shaded from the Saturday afternoon sun, John Medcraft was preparing the Styrofoam cup that would hold his chili before sending it to the judges of the High Sierra Regional Chili Cookoff at Glen Eagles Restaurant.

"I don't want a Styrofoam taste, so I put in a little cumin early, then I dump out the cumin, and coat the cup with the chili that is actually going to go in," Medcraft said. "That's just something I do that makes me feel better."

That attention to detail worked in Medcraft's favor as he was picked the winner of the red chili category, beating out 19 other entries, including four former world champions.

"I'm a Nevadan, born and raised, and this is special," Medcraft said, fighting back tears after being named the winner. The victory means Medcraft will travel to Charleston, W. Va., in October to compete in the International Chili Society's World Championships.

J.R. Knudson, founder of the Jimboy's Taco franchise, won the world chili cookoff championship in 2006 at age 90. On Saturday, Knudson was helping his wife of 70 years, Margo, as she cooked up their entry for the contest. Margo also is a former world champion, winning in 1987.

"It's better to be lucky than good," J.R. said.

"This is probably the best chili cooking area around," said Ed Pierczynski, who won the world championship in 1992. "They have had more champions coming out of the Sierras here, at least eight or nine world champions coming out of here."

Pierczynski's wife Mary, former superintendent of Carson City School District, was stirring up her own batch of chili. She placed third in the world championships in 1994.

"It's a hot day, a kind of funny day to have chili," Mary said. "But it's a good cause."

The cookoff this year is a fundraiser for Parks4Paws, which is working to establish a dog park in Carson City.

"The chili people were interested in partnering with us, and we were interested in order to get the word out," said Ilona Strull, of Parks4Paws.

The judges gathered inside the restaurant to undertake the laborious task of picking winners in three categories: salsa, chili verde and red chili. Cooks from as far away as Idaho and Southern Nevada came to compete for the chance to win a trip to the world championships.

Susie Decker won first in the salsa verde category, while Adrian Fuhrman won for the best salsa.

Today the chili cooking continues at Glen Eagles with the Nevada Capital Region Chili Cookoff, which will feature the same cooks.

There are hundreds of these regional cookoffs around the country, according to event organizer Bob Graysons. It takes 20 teams competing in order to qualify as a regional event. Chili cooks often travel to many regional events, hoping to grab one of the coveted qualifying spots for the world championships.