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Photos by Erica Techo.
Scott Weygand announces winners at the 2016 Fire at the Foothills.
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Photos by Erica Techo.
Proceeds from the chili cookoff benefit Chelsea Fire and Rescue’s firehouse dog, Hero.
What started as a friendly chili cookoff between neighboring businesses has now grown into a citywide event.
“Really, it all started with Justin [Fogo], and I’d cook chili at home and bring each other samples,” said Scott Weygand, one of the founders of Fire at the Foothills in Chelsea.
“A friendly little rivalry started, and I had just kind of come up with the idea of how much fun it would be to come up with a little chili competition,” said co-founder Justin Fogo.
The competition between Fogo and Weygand started about five years ago, when Chelsea Fire and Rescue built its station off Chesser Drive and got Hero, the firehouse dog.
“We decided to make crockpots of chili and take it to the fire station, have them taste it and say which one’s better,” Weygand said, “but then we decided we might as well try to help the fire department since we’re adolescents in our competitiveness.”
Proceeds from the chili competition at Fire at the Foothills go toward the care of Hero as well as his educational program. The competition is judged by firefighters, and even though they founded the event, Fogo and Weygand have never walked away with a first-place trophy.
“Our wives win it,” Fogo said. “We’ve placed, but we’ve never actually won it.”
The competition transitioned from dropping off crockpots at the fire station to tents in the Tractor Supply parking lot when, three years ago, they added a barbecue competition to the event. That competition became a Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) sanctioned backyard-level event last year.
“That’s what really pulls people in from all over the place, to win points,” Weygand said. “The Kiwanis Club partners with the city, and there’s prize money to the winners for the barbecue part.”
Funds raised in the BBQ cookoff go toward Chelsea Kiwanis, which contributes to children’s charities in the area. The group supports King’s Ranch, local elementary schools, the Shelby County DHR foster children’s fund and other nonprofits.
“We try really hard to focus most of our attention on charitable organizations that support children in the Chelsea and surrounding area,” said Kiwanis member Mike Denton.
There were 12 BBQ teams in last year’s competition, and Denton said they hope to increase that number to 16 or 20 this year. In addition to food tastings for attendees, there will be bounce houses and tents from local businesses and organizations. Each year, about 2,000 people stop through, coming from Chelsea and neighboring towns.
“Chelsea is still a small enough community where the community likes to be involved in events like this, and it’s just a fun way to get the community involved,” Fogo said.
Fire at the Foothills is April 22 from 1-4 p.m. in the Tractor Supply parking lot. For more information, or to get a registration form, go to Fire at the Foothills Barbecue and Chili Cook-Off on Facebook or Chelseakiwanis.org.
