‘Chili ain’t no joke’: Annual cookoff raises $539 for Halloween carnival
At Harvest Baptist Church’s annual chili cookoff, things can get pretty heated.
“They did it like jury duty, 12 of us came up during services. We had a new spoon for every chili,” said presiding judge Matt Duenas over a bowl of homemade mac and cheese and cornbread this past Sunday. “Chili ain’t no joke,” he added.
According to Duenas, there are three categories for judging chili: look, smell and taste. Categories used to include consistency and aftertaste, but judges decided to simplify the criteria this year.
“There was one that had no smell, no taste. It was about as thick as slenderman. But there was a couple that blew my mind,” he said.
For Duenas, the winning chili had it all: “It tasted amazing, smelled amazing, had a brownish reddish hue.”
Sunday’s winner was Vallejo native Ed Carver. He walked into church that morning confident, wearing a shirt that read “Club Jesus” and holding a crockpot brimming with a stew that packed a bite and thick chunks of meat.
“It’s hot links and hot chili,” Carver said. He’s entered the contest each year since joining the church in 2021 and has been perfecting the recipe. “I got second place the first time, second time I was way down the end. Fourth time’s a charm.”
Each year, the chili cookoff serves as a fundraiser for Harvest Baptist’s Halloween Carnival, an annual function that brings out hundreds from the neighborhood. It’s free, and family friendly, with hot dogs, drinks, cotton candy, two bounce houses, balloon dart games and more.
The carnival runs from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31 in Harvest Baptist’s ample parking lot at 240 Rio Del Mar. This year, the cookoff raised $539 for the upcoming festivities.
Harvest Baptist is a small but immensely supportive community, with almost as many toddlers running around as there are elders. Part of its appeal is the substance abuse recovery program run by Pastor Mike, who is 30+ years sober. Carver found his way to the church through the 12- step bible study group. He’s now 21 years sober and co-leads the group every Thursday at 6 p.m.
“I wasn’t raised in the church at all,” said Carver. “Harvest is great, it’s a small church — maybe 40 people. You can ask questions, talk to the pastor like he’s a regular person.”
The chili cook off has been a staple of Harvest Baptist for more than 30 years. Church members Patty Villata, a staffer at American Canyon Middle School, and her daughter, Angela, took over running the cookoff in 2015.
Angela won the contest when she entered at 16. She’s 21 now and doesn’t enter anymore — she doesn’t want to be accused of cheating.
“People tweak their recipes every year,” she said. “We’ve had somebody put grape jelly in theirs. We had deer in it one year. Someone brought noodles to put it over once … the competition is strong. There’s always some trash talking!”
But, with full bellies and enough funds for two bounce houses on Halloween, it was all love.
