Art MacLean claimed his fire department cooked up the best chili in town.
Less than two hours later, his colleague and fire chief Doug Dort claimed the win for New Glasgow’s firefighters in the 2018 Sobeys Chilli Competition at the farmers market Saturday.
“It’s got the best consistency, got the best flavour, it’s got the secret spices inside,” MacLean called out to passers-by, urging them to eat and vote for his team.
He told The News that it took him three days to concoct his secret recipe, slowly letting the spices and ingredients marinate their flavours into his dish.
“It has to soak in the gorgeous flavours,” MacLean said.
However, the firefighters faced some stiff competition: across the hall, Pictou Lodge’s team offered local chilli gourmets a vegetarian option. Their recipe was made with nine vegetables together with their own spices and tomato juice.
“It is healthy, yeah. There’s sweet potato in there, a little bit of green peppers, celery, mushroom, corn, all the good vegetables,” said team member Heidi Nelson.
The News the caught up with New Glasgow resident Cathy Lewis, whose husband cooked chili chicken in a white sauce.
“I’m very biased, I believe my husbands south-western chicken chili is probably the best, because he made it,” said Lewis.
The other winners included Fran Nicholas in the Home Cooks category, Gilles Godin and the Nova Scotia Community College in chefs, the Pictou Advocate in media, North Nova Education Centre against their Northumberland rivals and Joe MacDonald for the councillors.
New Glasgow Mayor Nancy Dicks presented winners their awards. The chilli contest formed part of New Glasgow’s fourth annual winter Chill Out Festival. However, windy weather and warm temperatures forced the cancellations of some activities including ice sculptures.
To keep up-to-date with future local activities, please visit www.newglasgow.ca or the Town’s Facebook page.
