Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2007 > November > 05 > Entry
Vegetarian chili cook-off at Austin Zoo
What’s the point of vegetarian chili? The folks at the Austin Zoo, who have been raising bucks through a veggie chili cook-off for almost two decades, know. Almost every offering in the dusty, village-like marketplace on the zoo grounds threw in a twist: unexpected ingredients, varied consistencies and a wide range on the heat index. Particularly picante was the white chili — no tomatoes or red chile powder — from Team GRITS (Girls Raised in the South), which included smoked corn, mushrooms and jalapeno that remarkably mimicked the flavor of bacon. And after the treats, off to view the lions, tigers and bears — plus less frightening species, most of them rescued and all housed in up close and personal enclosures.
“Adult chili!” they yelled, when they were not flipping their coconuts.
Sophie Caillabet, 3, of Dripping Springs, attends the zoo twice a week. No kidding.
Peas and chiles were among the afternoon’s stars
He wouldn’t give his name to the newspaper, but he was proud of his Atomic Tattooes art
These mad scientists obviously enjoy their brew. The one on the left kinda looks like Henry from “Ugly Betty,” a show he doesn’t watch.
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By VNA Member
November 7, 2007 9:42 AM | Link to this
1st: Vegetarian Network of Austin (Stevie Duda, Brendan Good, Teddi Irwin, Ken Jaffe, Susan Jaffe, & Rachel Jaffe)
2nd: Vegetarian Society of Houston (Dan McClure, Mandy Cohen, Dana Wilson, Caleb McClure, & Benjamin Cohen)
3rd (tie): Vivian Gardner/Phyllis Bagheri/Ernst Mueller Team and San Antonio Vegetarian Society (Amy Browning, Arnulfo Ojeda & Jan Keller)
People’s Choice: Don Barnes/Alice Strong Team
Best of Show: Vegetarian Network of Austin
Mark your calendar for next year: Nov. 9!
By ebw78756
November 7, 2007 8:42 AM | Link to this
The Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off was an afternoon of absolute delight. I'm almost embarrased to admit it....I made the rounds three times tasting the chili options. First round was to sample everything, second round was to decide which I liked best and third round was to confirm my vote. I had no idea thre could be so many distinct ways to make veggie chili. Not one of the chilis was bland, all were good and several were killer great! Deciding which one to vote for was difficult.
I particularly enjoyed the guy walking around in the t-shirt that said "Beef....it's what's rotting in your colon" Its wonderful to see so many vegetarian/vegans in the Austin area.
Austin vegetarian/vegan hikers might check out the yahoo group "austinveghikers" to meet and go on hikes with local like-minders. Hikes are often ended with a group pot-luck.
Belinda
By VNA
November 6, 2007 9:35 PM | Link to this
Yeah...wasn’t it a little odd that our own home town newspaper didn’t mention in Monday's article that a local group won two awards in this statewide event?! The winners were:
1st: The Vegetarian Network of Austin's “Mad Veggie Scientists” led by chili cook Stevie Duda for her Vegetable Chili (assisted by VNA members Brendan Good, Teddi Irwin, Ken Jaffe, Susan Jaffe, and Rachel Jaffe)
2nd: The Vegetarian Society of Houston led by chili cook Dan McClure for his Cari-Bean Chili (assisted by Mandy Cohen, Dana Wilson, Caleb McClure, and Benjamin Cohen)
3rd: A tie between the team of Vivian Gardner, Phyllis Bagheri, and Ernst Mueller for their Gentle on Your Mind and Stomach Chili (Vivian is 80 and Ernie is 94!) and The San Antonio Vegetarian Society team led by chili cook Amy Browning for her Home On The Free Range Chili (assisted by SAVS members Arnulfo Ojeda and Jan Keller)
People’s Choice: The team of Don Barnes and Alice Strong for their Quintesensual Chili
Best of Show (for booth design): The Vegetarian Network of Austin's “Mad Veggie Scientists”
Thanks for coming to the cook-off! Mark your calendar for next year's event, which is scheduled for November 9th.
By aTxVegn
November 6, 2007 12:05 PM | Link to this
I didn't stay until the end to see who won. Do you know?