World Returns to Omaha for 40th Anniversary of World's Championship Chili Cookoff; ConAgra Foods Sponsorship to Serve Up Ingred
March 28 2006 - 12:00PM
Business Wire
And the heat goes O!n. For a second consecutive year, the City of
Omaha's Lewis & Clark Landing will host the World's
Championship Chili Cookoff(TM), bringing together more than 400 of
the world's best chili cooks Oct. 6-8 to compete in stirring up the
perfect combination of spices and quality ingredients into a super
bowl of chili, with up to $30,000 in prize money on the line for
the winning recipe. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the
World's Championship Chili Cookoff, which attracted an estimated
10,000 chili fans last year, and is expected to provide a boost to
the local economy and put Omaha on the map as chili capital, said
Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, who joined leaders from the International
Chili Society (ICS) and ConAgra Foods to announce the cookoff's
return to Omaha and sample last year's winning red chili recipe at
a press briefing in the customer test kitchen at ConAgra Foods'
Culinary Center of Excellence. Omaha's selection for a rematch
reflects the success of last year's event, according to national
and local ICS representatives, who joined the Mayor in expressing
appreciation for ConAgra Foods' role as sponsoring host. They also
praised the strong turnout by thousands of residents who watched
400 award-winning cooks from the United States and beyond duel with
their stirring chili renditions on the sun-soaked banks of the
Missouri last fall for the officially sanctioned world's best
honors in traditional red chili, green "verde" chili and salsa
categories. "For the world's best chili, tasting is believing. For
a world-class event, seeing is believing," said Mayor Fahey. "Last
year it was clear to me and the thousands of participants and
attendees that Omaha, the ICS and ConAgra Foods really know how to
host a first-class event. Thanks to ConAgra Foods for its generous
support, and to the ICS for once again making Omaha the chili
capital of the nation." "The world is returning to Omaha to find
the perfect chili, which is a strong testament to the world-class
character of our community," said Mike Fernandez, senior vice
president, corporate affairs, and chief communications officer,
ConAgra Foods. "Once again, the chili championship will provide an
excellent opportunity for ConAgra Foods to learn and share tips
about great chili with the champions, and also showcase our
great-tasting brands that provide the perfect ingredients for so
many chili recipes. Quality brands and products like Hunt's(R)
tomatoes, Gebhardt(R) chili powder, Ro*Tel(R) diced tomatoes &
green chilies, Gilroy Foods(TM) garlic and Wesson(R) Oil, are
helping consumers and chili fans across America make their own
world-class chili." Carol Hancock, ICS owner and chief executive
officer, said: "Omaha and ConAgra Foods were superb partners in
2005. We look forward to our best chili cookoff ever as we
celebrate our 40th anniversary in October. This is a remarkably
friendly, supportive community. I know I speak for the chili cooks
when I say that Omaha really is a red hot host city in our
books--it has all the ingredients you need for a great world's
championship chili cookoff." In its four decades, ICS has
sanctioned cookoffs across the world for charitable and non-profit
organizations, raising nearly $80 million and qualifying regional
winners to compete in the World's Championship Chili Cookoff.
Prizes for winners among the more than 400 teams in Omaha at the
2006 cookoff will total $40,000, including a $25,000 top prize,
from ICS. ConAgra Foods will sponsor an additional $5,000 prize for
a winning red chili that includes ingredients from the company's
brands, such as quality Hunt's tomato products, Gebhardt's chili
powder, Ro*Tel diced tomatoes & green chilies, Gilroy Foods
garlic and Wesson(R) Oil. In addition to its sponsorship, ConAgra
Foods' Culinary Center of Excellence (CCOE) also played a role in
last year's chili cookoff, with its top chefs participating in the
judging as well as hosting chili samplings and seminars for
thousands of attendees. The CCOE continues to promote chili
competition winners and their recipes online and through the ICS,
and also provides cooking ideas and advice for the growing number
of chili fans looking to prepare world-class chili in the comfort
of their own homes. ConAgra Foods is a natural partner for
America's long-time love of chili, with its quality brands and
ingredients helping to produce the winning recipe at last year's
championship chili cookoff, and also in homes and kitchens across
America. ConAgra Foods has committed to being a resource and center
for chili excellence, whether for world's chili champions looking
for the very latest on top chili ingredients, or the millions of
Americans looking to cook up a super bowl of chili to satisfy
friends and family watching the Big Game or just enjoy a great
chili. Enthusiasm for chili in the United States continues to grow
among every-day consumers, and more avid fans and "chiliheads,"
many of whom attend officially sanctioned and regulated competitive
chili cookoffs. The ICS currently sanctions 180 plus events
annually attended by more than 750,000 people. Origins of Chili -
the All-American Food While no one knows for sure exactly where
chili originated, some historians have concluded the first bowl of
chili was made by a group of Spanish colonists who founded San
Antonio, Texas, in the early 18th century. But in 1976, Rufus
Valdez, a full-blooded Ute Indian and Utah native, won the world's
chili championship using what he claimed to be a 2,000-year-old Ute
recipe that had been passed to the Utes by Pueblo cliff dwellers in
Mesa Verde, Ariz. It took the advent of the cattle drive, however,
to spread the popularity of chili as an all-American food with the
persistence of a fine habanero. By the early 20th century, chili
had become a national dish and chili parlors emerged around the
country. About International Chili Society and World's Championship
Chili Cookoff The ICS is a not-for-profit organization that
sanctions chili cookoffs. These events are worldwide and benefit
charities or nonprofit organizations. Winners of ICS-sanctioned
cookoffs qualify to compete for cash prizes and awards at the
World's Championship Chili Cookoff, which has been held annually
since 1967. The ICS is the largest food contest, festival
organization in the world. It currently reaches more than 750,000
attendees a year through 180 plus events annually. Its sole purpose
is to promote, develop and improve the preparation and appreciation
of true chili and to determine each year the World's Champion Chili
through officially sanctioned and regulated competitive cookoffs.
ICS- sanctioned cookoffs include three categories: Red (traditional
red chili), Chili Verde (green chili) and Salsa, with a World
Champion crowned annually in each category. This association shall
further the camaraderie of chiliheads on behalf of charitable and
nonprofit organizations in the world. For more information, visit
www.chilicookoff.com. About ConAgra Foods ConAgra Foods Inc.
(NYSE:CAG) is one of North America's largest packaged food
companies, serving grocery retailers, as well as restaurants and
other foodservice establishments. Popular ConAgra Foods consumer
brands include: Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Gebhardt,
Gilroy Foods, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Marie
Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Ro*Tel, Wesson Oil and
many others. For more information, visit www.conagrafoods.com.
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