Not just beef and beans: Public invited to sample competitors’ creations at this event

Partakers who savor this year’s Lenexa Chili Challenge entries should not be surprised if they are surprised.

After all, this chili competition isn’t just beef and beans anymore.

“Homestyle category is always very interesting. You just never know what you’re going to see when you open the lid,” said Sarah Hirst, recreation supervisor for the Lenexa Parks & Recreation. “From burnt ends, venison — I’m confident we’ve seen it all.”

And it will be seen again when the Chili Challenge opens at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11 in Old Town, located at Santa Fe Trail and Pflumm Road in Lenexa. Competing teams will host private parties Friday evening, while the public can enjoy face painting, balloon artists, live music and fireworks.

Face painting, balloon artists and live music will also be part of the fun from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

But the public can dive into free samples of chili, hot wings and salsa from an expected 200 competing teams beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing as long as samples last. And drop by the Kids Kornbread contest on Saturday morning.

Creativity isn’t just in ingredients, Hirst said.

“We’ve had some creative wing submissions, with the bone end of the wings artistically wrapped in paper jerseys, detailed faces and hairstyles for Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift,” she said.

The competition dates back to 1986, when it was a sanctioned championship. Hirst said the event moved away from sanctioning in 2016.

In the beginning, there were no team parties, she said.

“That part of the event evolved over the years with teams cooking and inviting more and more friends out,” she said.

Over the years, there have been short-lived parts of the event, such as a hot pepper eating contest and a cornhole tournament.

“Hot wings has been around for a long time with it originating at Jerry’s Bait Shop as a fun side competition,” Hirst said. “However, interest grew, so a decision was made to make it a legitimate category.”

Now there are four categories of competition: Traditional chili, homestyle chili, salsa and hot wings.

The traditional chili can have any kind or any combination of meats and sauce. If vegetables and other ingredients are used, everything must be unidentifiable. There must be no fillers nor garnishes, and it must be red in color.

Homestyle chili can have any meat, meat substitution or be vegetarian. The chili can have beans, spaghetti, corn or fillers, and it doesn’t have to be red.

Salsa needs to be used as a dip for chips, so you won’t find guacamole or cheese. Small cuts of vegetables are allowed but excessively hot salsas will be disqualified.

Wings can be either the whole or part of a wing. All cooking methods are accepted but excessively hot wings will be disqualified.

“All cooks must be willing to eat their entries for each category,” Hirst said.

Bragging rights are delivered with a grand champion, a reserve grand champion and a third place overall.