Team Details

These are important. Please read them.

  • Teams
    1. Each team will receive 4 free wrist bands and 1 free t-shirt.  Additional team members will be required to pay the regular entrance fee.   
    2. Cooking areas will be limited to 4 team members at a time.  Hats (or hairnets) and gloves are required for all team members. Beard guards will be available for those who need them. 
    3. You may start to unload and set up your area between 7am and 7:30am on the day of the event.  The Rabbis will begin checking materials as soon as morning minyan ends.
    4. Your team bin will be at your tent location when you arrive, but you should not open your bin until a Rabbi approves your doing so.  
    5. Only a VAAD Rabbi may light the burners. Teams can begin cooking after a VAAD Rabbi has checked each of their ingredients.
    6. Alcohol is restricted to use in the chili only. Alcohol cannot be offered, or served to guests. This will be enforced and your team will be subject to disqualification.  No drinks (water, coffee, sodas, beer, etc.) may be consumed under the chili cooking tents. 
  • Ingredients
    1. No chips/crackers/food of any kind can be served from a display in a hat or any sort of prop—you must use a bowl or a basket lined with all food material.  You may use the props, but you must have a sign noting it is for “Display Only.”
    2. Food may not be placed on the ground—use your bin, a cooler or plastic cloth to place it on.
    3. We suggest not filling up the entire 2 oz. serving cup to make your chili lasts throughout the event.
    4. We also recommend disposing of any old spices that have been left over from previous years.
  • Utensils 
    1. Each team receives: a burner, an 80 quart pot, a small cutting board, 2 knives, a 14” serving spoon, 2 disposable aluminum pans, a stirring paddle, a ladle, a can opener, sampling cups and spoons.
    2. A roll of paper towels, disposable gloves, a bottle of hand sanitizer, and hand soap along with a 2 gallon jug of water will be available in the center of each tent for cleaning purposes.   
    3. New utensils must be in their original, unopened packaging, labeled with your team’s name and brought to the Tiferet Israel office no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, March 24th in order to be placed in the mikvah.  Any items brought after that date will not be allowed to be used.
    4. During the event, you should label, in permanent marker, all new utensils with your team or organization’s name. This will help us put them in the proper organization’s bin once they have been cleaned.  
    5. Returning teams should have a plastic storage bin containing any utensils and other supplies left after previous years’ event. New teams will be provided with a bin after the team meeting.
  • Cleanup
    1. Each team will be given a heavy duty trash bag labeled with your team or organization’s name for putting all utensils (yours and those we have provided to you) in the black trash bag, sealing it and placing it in your bin.
    2. Take the bin, its cover, your pot and its lid to the Meat Kitchen. The utensils will be washed and dried by our staff and returned to your bin. At that time, a rabbi will seal your bin for your use next year. 
    3. Any bin or utensils left in the tent becomes the property of the Kosher Chili Cookoff and will not be available to your team next year.
    4. Please do NOT empty your waste water on the ground. All water buckets will be handled at the end of the event by our cleanup crew.
  • Breakfast
    • There will be a light complimentary breakfast buffet available in the morning during setup for team members and volunteers.  No dairy items are permitted on the premises during this event.
  • Judging
    • Two categories: Vegetarian and Beef.  1st place will be awarded to the best Vegetarian team.  1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be awarded in the beef competition. The awards will be presented at about 3:00 p.m.
  • People’s Choice Award
    • Teams will be asked to bring their People’s Choice boxes to the designated spot at about 2:30 p.m.  No additional coins can be added once your box is turned in.