Belleville Chili Cook-Off a ‘success,’ particularly for five-time contest winner
A group of metro-east volunteers known as Truman’s 309 won first place in the non-restaurant/caterer division of Belleville’s Chili Cook-Off contest for the fifth year in a row.
Formerly known as Truman’s Best, the group raises money for a recruitment program of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 309 called RENEW (Reach Out and Engage Next-Gen Electrical Workers).
The group’s leader, Anne Markezich, described their chili as “traditional with hamburger.”
“Our secret is our team,” she said. “Everyone comes together. We made 300 gallons of chili this year. We cut all our vegetables fresh. We cook our own hamburger.”
The Truman’s booth ran out of chili about 5 p.m. Saturday, a half-hour after contest winners were announced and three hours before the two-day festival ended.
“As soon as it was announced, we had 100-plus people in line,” said Michael Crockett, another volunteer. “They swarmed us.”
Truman’s 309 also won the People’s Choice Award, selected by festivalgoers who chose to pay $1 to vote. Proceeds go to the Community Interfaith Food Pantry in Belleville.
Dried pepper and smoked brisket
Tivanov Catering Co. in St. Louis won first place in the restaurant/caterer division. The staff often sells food at the festival, but they rarely compete in the contest. They won second place about 10 years ago.
This year, the staff made about 20 gallons of “Texas-brisket chili” and sold out on Friday. They also served quesadillas, gyros and other items.
“Most chilis here are tomato-based,” said owner Teddy Tivanov. “Texas chili is dried-pepper-based. That’s why it has a unique flavor, and then the smoked brisket takes it to a whole new level.”
Tens of thousands of people converged on downtown Belleville on Friday and Saturday to eat chili, drink beer, listen to live music and socialize with friends and neighbors at the 41st annual Chili Cook-Off.
“I would call it a success,” said Maribeth Bendick, who recently took over as president and CEO of Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce, the festival’s sponsor.
“It’s my first year (with the chamber), but I’ve been coming here my whole life. I’m from Belleville.”
Biggest fundraiser of the year
The Chili Cook-Off is considered the biggest fundraiser of the year for many charitable causes in and around Belleville. More than half of this year’s vendors were nonprofit organizations or businesses raising money for charity, according to its website.
Of a total 47 vendors, 34 entered the contest. It offered prizes of $300 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place.
With 18 vendors in the restaurant/caterer division, second place went to Dixon’s Famous Chili, a restaurant in Independence, Missouri, and third place went to Casa Maria Mexican Grill in Belleville.
With 16 vendors in the non-restaurant/caterer division, second place went to Gaslight Vinyl in Belleville, and third place went to JS & Sons Construction in Sparta.
The city of Belleville tightened safety controls for this year’s fall festivals after a series of disturbances involving juveniles at outdoor events in metro-east cities in recent years.
Historically, Belleville Oktoberfest ended at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and the Chili Cook-Off ended at 10:30 p.m. That was changed to 10 p.m. and then 9 p.m. in recent years. This year, the ending time was 8 p.m.
No boost for downtown businesses
Owners of downtown restaurants and bars were hoping that the earlier ending time for festivals would boost business due to people wanting to stick around for more eating and drinking after 8 p.m.
But that hasn’t happened, according to Bennie’s Pizza Pub owner Bennie Parr and Big Daddy’s 618 owner Scott Schmelzel.
“This year with Oktoberfest, our numbers were way down,” Parr said Saturday night. “Some people do stay, but I think the masses leave when (the festivals) are over.”
Schmelzel pointed out that many people looking to party on a Friday or Saturday night don’t even get going until 8 p.m.
Parr said the main purpose of the Chili Cook-Off is to help charitable organizations raise money, not boost business for restaurants and bars, and he supports city officials trying to keep crowds safe.
“We all have to figure out what the new norm is and make adjustments,” Parr said. “There’s a learning curve here.”
As another safety precaution, Belleville City Council revised an ordinance this year to prohibit people from bringing backpacks, satchel bags or any other bags larger than 9 by 12 inches to festivals, unless they are event staff members or authorized vendors.
