The Chili Cook-Off is an annual event at Manitou Springs High School where families, students and teachers come together to make and taste chili. This is an event that has happened before at the school and gives a chance to students, teachers and families to bond. The grand prize was a homemade golden chili trophy.

Ben Schwartz (11) was the host of this year’s chili cook-off .“The original intention of the cook-off was to get students to interact with each other and interact with teachers,” said Schwartz.

Many people attended and it was a great chance for everyone to get and know each other. Setting up was fairly easy; the only items needed were an extension cord to keep the chili hot. Each contestant submitted their own chili to be tasted. There was a total of four chilies and a total of about 54 votes. The four people who participated were teachers Alice Stoneback, Elizabeth Tindall, and Erin Gocinski as well as parent Mrs. Vanderwerff.

The chili all had their own flavors. Many people tried and voted for the chili there. High school student Hannah Hollick (9) enjoyed almost all the chili there and was glad to vote on who deserved the trophy.

Deciding who the champion of this chili cook-off was hard because two of the chilies tied for first place. The host of the cook-off then had to bring in a third member to decide which chili was the best, which made it a three-way tie. Out of the four chilies that were brought in throughout this cook-off, one person got to have the golden chili trophy. The person who was crowned chili champion was Gocinski.

The point of this chili cook-off was to bring people in the community together for a family-friendly chili competition. It was also to help raise school spirit for the basketball game going on that day. Along with bringing everybody in the community closer, the yearly chili cook-off is an amazing event that people should attend every year.