Seven home cooks battled it out on Saturday for the Bienfait Legion's first annual chili cookoff. After votes were tallied from just shy of 50 people, five winners were crowned.
"It went off really good. We're going to be hosting another one next year, but the turnout today was unreal. Our chefs that showed up, we had 7 great chili crockpots the people came out [on] a great afternoon. If you didn't show up, you missed out on a good time," shared Legion member Denise Taylor.
Chefs were gunning for a cash prize based on the votes that were tallied. The first-place winner won $150, the second place received $100, and the third place received $50.
- First place: TIE between Deidre Mauer and Daylene Wolfe
- Second place: TIE between Teresa Smyth and the Bienfait Fire Department
- Third place: Ryan Takarchuk
Home cooks entered the contest with a $10 registration fee, with the public paying $3 for a bowl of chili and $1 per sampler cup. Taylor noted that the money is going towards necessary repairs for the Legion Hall. Overall, the Bienfait Legion raised $380 from the event.
"We are currently fundraising for new windows. We just renovated our hall. We redid our walls and reinsulated it. Now, we need new windows, but we have to, of course, fundraise for that."
She added that the project has been a long time coming. They applied for a grant back in May, but the approval didn't come until July. Contractors were hired middle of August, with construction happening for the majority of September.
Taylor noted that the Legion will be holding more fundraisers moving forward, including selling hot hamburgers on October 9. They will also be hosting a fall supper in collaboration with the Bienfait Lions and the Catholic Women's League on October 27th.