He may well win re-election to the County Board in November, but Walter Tejada on Sept. 5 picked up even better bragging rights: His culinary team’s entry won the People’s Choice Award at the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s annual Labor Day chili cookoff.
Tejada’s team came prepared to compete, offering the public two versions of vegetarian chili, a sausage-and-chicken chili and a wide array of condiments to control the spiciness and flavoring.
“We wanted to give constituents the power of choice,” an ebullient Tejada said after his victory was announced at the Lyon Park Community Center. “You have the power of choice.”
Tejada’s entry was titled “Chili Para Toda Arlington,” and by winning the vote of the public he garnered the crown of “Chili Chef Supreme.”
It was a first-time chili victory for the eight-year County Board veteran. But it was a repeat performance for Melissa Bondi, who with Lee Niederman prepared the award-winning recipes.
Bondi won the 2010 competition with her brisket-based “Team CZ Black and Red Chili” for County Board member Chris Zimmerman.
The Bondi-Niederman effort for Tejada included portobello mushrooms and locally-sourced vegetables in the vegetarian chili, and “plenty of attitude” along with the right amount of spices, Bondi said.
“Abby’s Black Bean Chili” from the culinary team headlined by School Board Chairman Abby Raphael came in second in the public voting, and, much like a tae kwon do competition for elementary-school students, nearly every elected official who competed walked away with one prize or another, as judged by a panel of taste-testers.
Among the awards bestowed by judges: State Sen. Janet Howell’s chili was crowned spiciest, while Del. Bob Brink’s garnered an award for most mild-tempered. Del. David Englin’s entry garnered the “go meat!” award, while the Arlington Young Democrats took home the “where’s the beef?” honor for vegetarian entry.
Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy was bestowed with the “veggie lovers” award, while County Board Vice Chairman Mary Hynes won the “most gourmet” and Treasurer Frank O’leary took home the “aged to perfection” title.
Theo Stamos, who won the Aug. 23 Democratic primary and is unopposed in the general election for commonwealth’s attorney, took rookie-of-the-year honors, and state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple won the award for political leader who doubled as his/her own chef.
Threatening weather conditions conspired to push the event from outside the Lyon Park Community Center to the space-constrained main room.
The combination of spicy chili, late-summer humidity and perhaps some lingering scars from contentious Democratic primaries helped give the room a sauna-like aura. Campaign-themed hand fans were the most important fashion accoutrement for the afternoon, and photography proved challenging (hence no “slide show” from the event in this year’s Sun Gazette).
Despite the soppy weather, the cookoff turned out to be “a great event, a successful event, with great turnout,” said Alan Howze, one of three chairs of the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s Joint Campaign for 2011.
Howze said the annual cookoff served as a chance to raise some money and build party unity in an effort to help retain Democratic power in the state legislature.
“We really do have our work cut out for us [in the fall],” he said. “It’s a struggle that has real consequences.”
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