Coby Basset, left, and chef Dan Catanio, display the three individual plaques they received from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce, each with an engraved wooden spoon, for their winning Orange Coast Indian Tribe Wild Game Chili recipe which took honors in the Chamber's 2nd Annual Chili Cookoff. Photo courtesy of MealPro

 

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Seven contestants vied for the best chili in Citrus Heights in the second annual Chamber of Commerce Chili Cookoff held on December 12 at the Citrus Heights Community Center during the chamber’s recent member luncheon.

 “We had our very first Chili Cookoff last year, and it was so much fun we decided to have another. I’m sure this will be a regular annual event,” said Diane Ebbitt-Riehle, executive director of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce.

 “At this year’s luncheon, we also had all 13 of our incoming chamber board members in attendance. Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Fenney administered the oath of office to each of them,” she said.

 The competition for best chili and best cornbread was tough again this year, Ebbitt-Riehle said. Panel judges included Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney, outgoing mayor Tim Schafer and Forest Johnson, on behalf of County Supervisor Sue Frost.

 The three put their tastebuds to work in a blind tasting of seven different contestant recipes to determine this year’s “Judge’s Choice,” “People’s Choice” and “Hottest Chili.”

 “In all, we had seven chili entries and three cornbread entries. The entries were numbered so no one was able to see who brought what,” Ebbitt-Riehle said.

 When the results were tallied, it was the original recipe of chef Dan Catanio, who leads the Culinary Staples Prep Cook program at MealPro in Citrus Heights, which took top honors in all three competitive categories for his “Oregon Coast Indian Tribe Wild Game Chili.”

 Catanio said he taught his former student Coby Basset how to make his chili recipe which they then entered together in competition.

Catanio shared a photo taken with Basset of the three individual plaques presented from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce, each with an engraved wooden spoon emblazoned with a flaming tongue logo in honor of their special achievement.

“It’s quite an honor,” he said, “and I’m especially proud of Coby for the way he interpreted and followed my recipe.”

Other contestants in the chili cookoff included Carlos Perez, PRIDE Industries; Ryan Becker, Waste Management; Steve Balko, a community member; Tony Gariano, A-Applied Mailing Service; Tammy Chavez, Pancho Villa BBQ, LLC; and Ray Ward, of Legacy Benefits.

Three contestants competed for “Best Cornbread” honors. Realtor Amanda Camacho, of the office of Amanda in Sacramento took top honors, with chef Tammy Chavez, Pancho Villa BBQ, LLC, taking second place. Diane Ebbitt-Riehle, executive director of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce took third place honors for her cornbread recipe.