CINCINNATI — This weekend temperatures are dropping and it'll go back to being a bit chilly — so of course, it's the perfect time for chili.
Enter the annual Findlay Market Chili Fest Weekend, just in time.
The festival runs both Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 11-12. Saturday's main event is the amateur public chili cook-off, featuring 20 contestants who will bring their best chili for judging. The event starts at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Amateur chili connoisseurs are invited to enter their best recipe for a chance to win one of the top three prizes, but there are some rules. Contestants must use at least three ingredients from Findlay Market in the recipe. Contestants must also bring their own crock pot and serving spoon.
Watch below to learn more about the events and what to expect:
That event is free to attend for those looking to sample the options, but it's $10 to enter your chili creation.
On Sunday, the ticketed Chili Fest tasting event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can buy 8 tickets for $20, which gets you 8 samples of chili from merchants serving up their chili recipes. You can also buy a bundle of 18 tickets for $40.
Here's a list of the participating merchants and the chili they'll be serving:
- Always Canning - Ghost Pepper Jam Chili
- The Arepa Place - Colombian Vegetarian Chili with a Toast Arepa
- Artichoke - White Turkey Chili
- Babushka Pierogi - Cincinnati Lenti Chili Pierogi
- Barlion’s Seafood & Poultry - Smoked Turkey Chili
- Bouchard’s Pasta - Old Fashioned Chili with Cornbread
- Chamaele - Honey Glazed Cornbread
- Churchill’s Fine Teas - Some Like It Hot Black Tea
- Dat’s Ole School Cookin’ - Chili Mac
- Dean’s Mediterranean Imports - Chickpea Chili
- Eli’s BBQ - Brisket Chili w/ Colonel De’s Spices
- Eliza Jane’s BakeShop - Cheesecake Bites
- The Empanada’s Box - Cincinnati Chili Empanada
- Gramma Debbies Kitchen - Chili (Beef, Chicken, or Vegan)
- Fizzy Flamingo - “Chili” Inspired Dirty Soda
- Harmony Plant Fare - Cincinnati Style Grilled Cheese or The Best Damn Bean Chili
- Joyously Sweet - Mini Cornbread Cupcake topped with Cheddar Garlic Mashed Potato “Buttercream”, Popcorn Chicken and Hot Honey from Chamaele LLC
- Makers Bakers Co. - Cheddar Jalapeno BLT and/or Loaded Chili
- Mama Lo Hizo - Chili Pie (Corn Chips covered with Chili, Jalapenos, and Shredded Cheese)
- Maverick Chocolate - Fahrenheit 513 Hot Chocolate
- Neil Luken Meats - Damn Good Chili
- Pet Wants - Beef Stew for Dogs
- The Rhined - Rhined Chili Mac
- Che's Globally Inspired Catering- Vegetarian Chili Beans and/or New Orleans Seafood Gumbo with White Rice
- Ruby’s Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Chili Bark
- Sabor Alaniz - Charro Beans
- Spanky’s Sauces - Sample size spices and/or 2oz Hot Sauce Bottle
- Tablespoon Cooking Co. - Sweet Heat Cookies and Hold Gold Snack Mix
- Taste of Belgium - Belgian Chili
- Wendigo Tea - Cincinnati Chili Spiced Chai
- Yee Mama - Beef & Bean Chili
There will also be a Hot Pepper Hideout Scavenger Hunt happening all day. Visitors are challenged to find one of the hidden hot peppers for a chance to win an extra sample ticket.
Also happening Sunday is the second annual Red Hot Rumble hot sauce competition between merchants.
The competition kicks off at 1 p.m. at Jane's where merchants will enter their hot sauce in the hopes of winning a homemade trophy and bragging rights for the year. Sauces will be judged by "local heroes" that were not named on Findlay Market's website.
