Volunteer judges at this weekend’s 42nd annual Tri-State Open Chili Cookoff need only two qualifications. “They should be open minded and like spicy chili,” says organizer and competitor Tiffany Messer. And, to be clear, this is Texas-style chili: “It’s meat and gravy, no filler like beans,” Messer says. The cookoff, an officially sanctioned event of the Chili Appreciation Society International, begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the Rex Baxter Building on the Amarillo Tri-State Fairgrounds, 3301 S.E. 10th Ave.
Messer will compete again, using the same fine-tuned recipe that she’s used for the past five years. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Messer says. “It depends on the judges—some like it spicier than others.”
Entrants in the CASI side of the contest are hoping to earn points to compete at the Original Terlingua International Chili Championship in November. Regional corporate teams also can compete in Amarillo for bragging rights…