Twenty-five cooks entered Meadowlands Racetrack’s Fall Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, Nov. 5, all vying for the $5,000 cash prizes and coveted spots in the International Chili Society’s 2023 World Championship.
Chili cook-off veteran Mario Saccoccio scored the $1,000 grand prize for his homestyle chili.
When asked what his secret to winning was, Saccoccio replied, “It takes a lot of love; anything that tastes good needs a lot of love. Plus, I have my lovely wife help with the recipe.”
Rolfe Garrett, a chili cook-off regular competitor, took home the $1000 grand prize for his chili verde cooking efforts.
“This was a great event run by the Meadowlands," said Garrett following his win. "My wife and I are going to go home and enjoy a nice bottle of wine tonight to celebrate this win! We will certainly be back next year!”
Multi-year winner and veteran cook-off competitor David Ronge took home the $500 top prize in the salsa category.
All three category winners (homestyle, verde and salsa) also qualified for the International Chili Society’s World 2023 Championships.
The $250 People’s Choice prize went to repeat champion Rob Quinones.
A new category for this year’s competition was “best booth” with second year competitor Susan Vogel taking home the top $500 prize for her food truck inspired booth.
“This is an event I look forward to each season,” said Jason M. Settlemoir, Meadowlands General Manager and COO. “It has become a staple on our event calendar and it is great to see cooks come from surrounding states to compete in our cook-offs.”
(Meadowlands)