Annual chili-tasting fundraiser in Philomath crowns top teams

Oregon State Public Safety’s “Doggone Good Chili” swept two top honors at the Public Safety Chili Cook-Off on Sunday while Patrick Lumber Manufacturing ran out of its People’s Choice-winning batch within hours of the event’s start.

Held at the Yew Wood Corral on the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo grounds, the cook-off featured public safety agencies and community groups competing across three divisions for first- through third-place honors, along with the crowd-favorite People’s Choice Award and the Golden Spoon Award.

Andy Thompson, public safety dispatch supervisor at the Corvallis Regional Communications Center, was one of the event’s lead coordinators. He’s attended the cook-off for 14 years as part of the public safety dispatch team and recently joined the planning committee.

“We spend a lot of time reaching out to community members and sponsors to help back this project — it’s a great event to help bring our community together,” he said.

For Thompson, one of the best parts of the event happens before the public even arrives. Early in the morning, as teams prepare their chili, he said he enjoys the playful competition and camaraderie among participants.

“We get to work and cook with partners that we work with on a daily basis, but in a more personal way,” he said.

Participants were required to make 10-gallon batches, but for some, that wasn’t enough. Patrick Lumber Manufacturing, this year’s People’s Choice winner, ran out only a couple of hours into the event.

“We love it when the public comes back and says, ‘We love your food.’ We’re serving two, three, four times to the same person. We love it, but it also kills our chili — we keep running out every year,” team member Edward Martinez said.

“We’re going to have a way bigger pot next year,” added team member Ben Motter.

The team’s preparation began long before the cook-off. At their workplace, the group holds its own chili cook-off each year, using it as a chance to test recipes before bringing the heat to Philomath.

“Every year we have a chili cook-off at our work, and then the winner — we use as the recipe for this one,” Martinez said. “This year it was Ben right here who won it, so he’s the one who gets credit for finally getting us some recognition.”

The team, competing for the second year, quickly attracted a crowd with a chili loaded with beans and an abundance of meat — pork, beef and other varieties.

“It was a lot — I mean, a truly excessive amount of meat,” Martinez said.

“Every meat,” joked team member Kevin Murphree.

Next year, the team says it’s determined to exceed 10 gallons to keep up with demand.

Oregon State Public Safety, a double-winner at the event, arrived around 6 a.m. — hours before the 1 p.m. start — to turn a family recipe into 12 gallons of chili. By about 3:45 p.m., there was nothing left.

The team’s chili, dubbed “Doggone Good Chili,” won both the Golden Spoon Award and first place in the Public Safety Division, marking the group’s first two victories at the event.

“We were pretty surprised,” said team member Nick Herman. “We had people at our office who were doubting us because we’ve been doing it for years.”

Herman said he drew on a smaller family recipe and worked with teammates, including Aaron Sutherland and several officers and family members, to scale it up into a competition-sized batch.

“It was a big teamwork collaboration,” Sutherland said.

The recipe’s standout ingredient was candied bacon, made with maple syrup, spices and thick-cut bacon. The team also set up a topping bar, giving attendees another way to customize their tasting..

“I think it was the candied bacon,” Herman said. “It was absolutely phenomenal.”

Preparation wasn’t without hiccups. When the team arrived that morning, members realized they were missing onions and bell peppers — two key ingredients. Herman made a quick trip home to grab them before returning to the cook-off.

For the Oregon State Public Safety team, the appeal of the cook-off goes beyond chili. The group has competed for about four years, using the event as a chance to connect with the community outside its regular public safety duties.

The cook-off also included an emergency preparedness fair, giving public safety agencies a chance to share information with residents. Herman said the event lets Oregon State Public Safety explain what it does while building relationships with community members.

Proceeds from the event are split between three beneficiaries — the 4 Spirits Veteran Scholarship Fund, Philomath Police Foundation and the Benton County Sheriff’s Foundation.