Benton County Public Safety Agencies Battling for Best Chili Crown

(KNSI) – It will be a beef-and-bean-laden battle in Benton County on January 10th.

Northern Hollow Winery in Foley is hosting the inaugural Battle of the Badges Chili Cook-Off between the sheriff’s office, Foley Police Department, and Foley Fire Department. Foley Police Chief Katie McMillin says organizers are preparing for a good crowd to act as judges. One of the challenges for each agency is scaling up their recipes from a bowlful to an industrial-sized crockpot.

Each entry needs to have several gallons to spread around. According to McMillin, “I’ve been told we need to make 10 gallons of chili each. That’s a lot of chili! So, I’m hoping a lot of people come out.”

McMillin is keeping the police entry recipe close to the bulletproof vest. Expect it to remain a mystery until the day of the event.

For Foley Fire, Chief Mark Pappenfus was happy to delegate the job of whipping up a recipe. He says a couple of members jumped at the chance, giving firefighters an opportunity to sample a range of savory selections before forming a consensus on their best option.

Pappenfus notes with excitement, “One of my guys actually made a couple crock pots of chili for the guys here a week ago at drill for them to try, and said this one or that one, and we’re going to run with the one the guys chose.”

The event runs from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $20. They’re available here.

___