13th Annual Houston Kosher Chili Cookoff

You may not be aware of this, but a major annual event in Houston is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This is a big deal around here, and a major sideshow is the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. This is a no-joke contest with 250 teams coming for the win. I’ve heard so many stories about the BBQ from various Uber drivers and non-Jewish friends that it’s clearly a legendary event. Alas, it’s super not kosher, so that makes me sad.

However, the Jewish community in Houston does throw their own, somewhat smaller event: the Houston Kosher Chili Cookoff. This was the 13th iteration. While it’s not the major blockbuster that the rodeo has, it definitely makes a splash, and is a big deal here.

The premise is simple: the cookoff is run by local synagogue Beth Yeshurun (who also hosted KFWE), supervised by the HKA kashrus agency, and teams pay to enter and compete. There are also other organizations there advertising themselves (presumably paying for the privilege), like HEB, HKA, a local kosher nursing home, and more. Visitors can pay a flat fee to come in and eat a whole bunch of chili, drink a beer (or water!), and otherwise enjoy the show. There’s a big play area with inflatable attractions for the smaller kids, too.

Participation was quite impressive despite the ominous clouds and light rain, and encompassed the entire Houston Jewish community. Many of the local synagogues and schools competed, along with some commercial firms. Participants were from all walks of life (Jewish or otherwise), and it was really quite amazing to see the unity of the community on display yet again. Wide appeal community events like this don’t just happen; they represent years of working together and supporting each other across the entire community.

I tried most of the chili, and in my opinion, the Bnei Brith and Beth Rambam entries were top-tier. However, the judges seemed to disagree, granting the crown to Aishel House. That said, I was impressed with almost all of what I tasted; the chili was hot, but not so hot that it was going to light your tongue on fire, with strong flavors and different styles on display. My daughter is not really a spicy foods person, and she really enjoyed all of it.

If you’re in town, this is an event you should not miss.