Got Chili??

Got to love the annual chili cookoff, an event that rivals the Route 66 Rendezvous in really capturing the essence of Berdoo.

Take a look at this story, written from my Saturday visit to the cookoff at Perris Hill Park.

That was a big, bawdy crowd. Chances are, you were out there too ...

SAN BERNARDINO -- Red Brecke is a master chili cook. Working his magic under his "Horny Toad Chili, San Diego," canopy, Brecke fried, marinated and strained his way to his signature "intense chili flavor."

The name subtly implies that his chili has aphrodisiac properties, Brecke said with an impish grin.

Passersby sampled and reacted with a range of oohs, ahs and eye flutters.

But Brecke has never won, a testament to just how fierce the city's chili contest is.
"The curse has been on me," Brecke said, though he points out that his wife is a past champion. "But I'm looking to shake it this year."

The California State 35th Annual Chili Cookoff came to Perris Hill Park for the 11th consecutive year Saturday, drawing the state's top-chili chefs and more than 10,000 revelers.

Attendance estimates as of mid-afternoon Saturday ranged from 12,000 to more than 15,000, and two-time state chili cooking champ and cookoff chairman Mike "Ughlee" Austin saying attendance was actually boosted by another major event going on in the city.

"A lot of the bikers have been coming by for some chili," the gravelly-voiced Austin said, referring to the Berdoo Bikes & Blues Rendezvous that drew thousands downtown. "I think this is a little better than last year."

Top prizes for red chili, verde chili and salsa netted between $200 and $1,000 and earned winners a berths in the International Chili Society's world contests later this year.

While the chili remains the main event - with contests and endless taste-tests pleasing attendees' palates - the event was packed with side-events that ranged from cute to just plain crazy.

Crowds swayed and danced to children singing karoke through blasting loudspeakers. Ms. Chili Pepper and Mr. Hot Sauce, aptly named beauty contests, thrilled the crowd.
The "Shoot n' Holler" contest, where contestants threw back shots of Tequila before belting out their best screams, was a fan favorite.

"This is a great event, a people-friendly, San Bernardino event," said Mike Austin Jr., "Ughlee's" son and the 1999 Shoot n' Holler champ.

Austin Sr. echoed his son, noting the seamless alignment between his event, which celebrates a staple dish of the Western frontier, and this diverse, blue collar city built largely on railroads and heavy industry.

"This is a San Bernardino event that appeals to all of San Bernardino," "Ughlee" Austin said.