P R EL I M I N A R Y

 

 

 

PDF Format

 

 

Attendance

 

There were over 800 adults attending this year’s All-Vegan Chili Cook-Off!

Add in a few hundred kiddos, as well as contestants, booth attendants and volunteers,

there were well over 1000 people enjoying the day!

 

 

 

Photos

 

If anyone has Photos, please send them to me.

 

Photos from Ricky Burke:         http://www.photoshow.com/watch/px2Gg3XB

 

                                                (For now, cut & past the above link into a new browser window)

 

 

Photos from Craig Warner:       http://www.io.com/~warner/CCO2007/

 

Received Photos from Lindsey; will post soon.

 

Getting my pictures developed today.

 

 

 

 

Comments about what’s changed

 

Time Change

 

Changes from Last Year:

 

Lenny and Ricky both had major life / relationship changes (challenges) which took a tremendous amount of Time & Energy.

 

Roy who did our Sound System & Entertainment had a previous engagement

 

Sadly, the owner/cook for New Age Restaurant, where we had out night before dinners the past two years, passed away., and the restaurant has now closed permantently.

 

Margaret took on heading up a new Dallas Vegetarian group, so was not nearly as involved in publicity as she was the previous year.

 

Robert who did our Beer Booth was so traumatized that he moved to Atlanta

 

Cindy from the Austin Zoo moved to Costa Rica – Now that’s shirking responsibility!

 

But Natanya, who did our Trophy Bowls, wins clearly wins the no-show price by moving to Korea!

 

 

If the tent people had changed, we would all be cooking under hand held umbrellas this year!

 

 

Tentative date for next year is Sunday, Nov. 9th

(Not Halloween Weekend, after Elections, same distance from Thanksgiving)

 

 

 

 

Bees

 

I will mention the bees.  (I will also talk to the Zoo to see if this was unusual and/or if anything can be done about them).

 

 

 

Existing 2007 Stories

 

 

Link to Austin American Statesman article:

 

 

            http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/05/1105chili.html

 

 

Vegetarian chili cook-off at Austin Zoo

By Michael Barnes | Monday, November 5, 2007, 09:00 AM

 

What’s the point of vegetarian chili? The folks at the Austin Zoo, who have been raising bucks through a veggie chili cook-off for almost two decades, know. Almost every offering in the dusty, village-like marketplace on the zoo grounds threw in a twist: unexpected ingredients, varied consistencies and a wide range on the heat index. Particularly picante was the white chili — no tomatoes or red chile powder — from Team GRITS (Girls Raised in the South), which included smoked corn, mushrooms and jalapeno that remarkably mimicked the flavor of bacon. And after the treats, off to view the lions, tigers and bears — plus less frightening species, most of them rescued and all housed in up close and personal enclosures.

 

Photos (including one of Brendan and Ken) are at:

 

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2007/11/05/whats_the_point.html

 

 

 

Blog

 

            http://eatnvegn.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winners

 

Notes for report on Go Vegan Texas!

Austin Statesman By Melissa Mixon  Hold meat, add Shiner and stir

Austin celebrates 19th annual vegan chili cook-off.

On Sunday, 700 to 1,000 people from around the state headed to the Lone Star Vegetarian Network's 19th annual chili cook-off to soak their taste buds in spicy, meat-free goodness. The network, a nonprofit group that advocates vegetarianism, hosted the event at the Austin Zoo.

Fifteen teams competed in the cook-off, churning up more than 75 gallons of vegan chili.
More at:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/05/1105chili.html

First Place: ($300)
Mad Veggie Scientists Chili created by mad scientists, led by chili cook Stevie Duda for her Vegetable Chili and assisted by partner Brendan Good, mother Teddi Irwin and VNA Officers Ken and Susan Jaffe, and daughter Rachel representing the Vegetarian Network of Austin.

Stevie is the VNA Newsletter Editor, Brendan is the Webmaster, and Ken is the VNA President and Susan is the VNA Vice-President.

Second Place: ($200)
Caribe-Bean Chili cooked up by Dan McClure, Dana Wilson, Mandy Cohen and Pat Grissom, Caleb McClure and Benjamin Cohen wearing grass hula skirts and representing the Vegetarian Society of Houston

A Tie for Third Place: ($50 each)


Vivian Gardner and Phyllis Bagheri, Sunnie Young and Ernie Mueller … with their previous award winning chili, Gentle on your Mind (and Stomach) Chili
Vivian was the Founder/President of New IDEAS (I Don’t Eat Animals Society) of the Rio Grand Valley.  She was joined by her daughter Phyllis who lives in Dallas and her trusted sidekick Ernie, who will be 95 next summer.  Vivian and Ernie have been in many 10K runs together in the recent past.  Our LSVN Co-Director, Lenny Lynn Lunden, is also Vivian’s daughter.  Vivian’s grand daughters Desire and Dawn Ward were also Chili team contestants this year.  Vivian has had a Chili team since the second LSVN cook-off (only because she didn’t know about the first one!), and continues to be one of our most dedicated ambassadors of Vegetarianism.  (Vivian is 80 and Ernie is 94!)

 

Lenny, I would like to mention the 3 Generations of Vegetarians your family always provides.  Please send me all the team names and correct spellings of names of team members.

Jose Loya (his daughters: Virginia and Beatrice)  & Sharon Stoddard  { Lenny’s roommates}.


Home on the Free Range cooked up by  the San Antonio Vegetarian Society led by chili cook Jan Keller and Team of Amy Browning and Arnulfo Ojeda from San Antonio.

 

People’s Choice ($100)

 

  Alice Strong and Don Barnes from San Antonio representing catfence.com...with their ever popular Quintessensual Chili that has won more awards than they can count.

 

Best of Show ($100)

 

Mad Scientist (Veggie) Chili (see details above for 1st Place Winner).

 

 

Team Coming Farthest to Attend:

 

Jason Wyrick & Assistant Eleanor
Executive Chef
The Vegan Culinary Experience (www.veganculinaryexperience.com)
Devil Spice (www.devilspice.com)

devilspiceeats@aol.com
623-680-7468c

 

 

If you missed this year - plans for next year's 20th Vegan Chili Cook-Off are already underway.

 

 

There are four generations in Shirley and Ben Johnson’s family.  All have attended and helped cook chili at various times throughout the last two decades!

Shirley Vegetarian since 1961 - Vegan since 1984

Ben ???
Cheri, Shirley’s daughter - Vegetarian since 1961 (at age 3) - Vegan since 1984
Denise, Shirley’s granddaughter, age 26, Vegetarian since birth
Kassandra (Kassie), Shirley’s great granddaughter, age 6, Vegetarian since birth

 

 

Contestants

 

We are putting together a list of all 15 Chili Teams.  It takes a tremendous amount of effort to put together a booth and cook 5 gallons of chili early in the morning!

 

 

Educational Booths

 

We are also putting together a list of all the people that brought educational material.  The primary purpose of the Chili Cook-Off is to be an educational event, so these booths are an integral part of the Chili Cook-Off.

 

 

Publicity

 

Dianna Stiefer

 

There was a great event listing in the Austin Chronicle, and on Craig’s List.

 

One of the teams entered because they heard about the cook-off on the radio!

 

 

Beer

 

The Beer Booth was headed up by VNA Treasurer Craig Warner.

 

Real Brewery  http://realalebrewing.com/

 

Brewhouse Brown Ale

Fireman's #4 Blonde Ale

 

http://realalebrewing.com/beer_styles.php

 

 

Judges

 

Cam Rossi is the co-author of Insiders' Guide to Austin (currently working on their sixth edition).  She is a former domestic and foreign correspondent for the Associated Press news service whose work has appeared in newspapers throughout the United States and abroad.  She has lived in Austin since 1993.

 

www.insidersguide.com

 

http://www.insiders.com/austin/

 

http://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guide-Austin-5th/dp/0762740418/ref=sr_1_1/105-3865225-5456421?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194802819&sr=8-1

 

 

Rebecca Markovita is a co-author of The Fearless Critic: Austin Restaurant Guide (feisty local food writers rate and review 390 places to eat).

She is a native Austinite, who left briefly for studies at Yale and Oxford.  She put her education to good use by sitting around and eating.

 

www.fearlesscritic.com

 

Gary Newton, one of the original Wheatsville founders,

 

Tiffany Brown, Registered Dietitan (R.D.) with Texas Department of State Health Services, WIC Program

 

Steve Roberts, Englishman, resident of Llano, world traveler (he's going to China next year for a year!), Mensan

 

 

Door Prizes

 

Kaz, please provide some quick notes on what you thought were the best door prizes and who they were from.  Do we have a complete list of all door prizes and who donated them (please send if so)?

 

 

Entertainment

 

I will write up the Entertainment stuff.

 

Lindsey, Karen & Tombstone Bullies, please send me anything you would like said about yourselves.

 

All ORIGINAL TEXAS MUSIC Provided By

 

Lindsey Eck with special guests Tombstone Bullies and Karen Naomi

 

www.CornerOak.com

 

www.TombstoneBullies.com

 

www.karenaomi.com

 

 

Trophy Bowls

 

Dawn Chatoney

www.venturellapottery.com

Chatoney313@Yahoo.com

 

 

Other Topics???

 

Please let me know if there are other topics needing coverage.

Notes on the Austin Zoo (from previous years)

 

Although we have not had too many inquiries, you are certainly not the only one to question why we have the Vegan Chili Cook-Off at a “Zoo”.  In fact, that was my first concern when I heard many of Texas’ leading Animal Rights activists suggesting it.

 

However, the Austin Zoo is not at all a commercial Zoo.  I have come to find out the following:

 

The Austin Zoo is a private sanctuary for animals rescued from circuses, improper residences & research laboratories. Over 90 percent of the animals are rescued, and they do not breed the animals or offer commercial sales.  An average of 200 requests to care for additional animals, "from goats to elephants", are turned down by Austin Zoo each month.  As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization since '94, they now rely solely on private donations, grants and sponsorships for continued growth.  Along with a sanctuary in San Antonio, Austin Zoo has gained national acclaim and is working to promote legislation that will make it harder for small, roadside "zoos" with mistreated animals to exist.

 

The Vegan Chili Cook-Off had previously bee held in isolated locations with no public access.  Even though this fun and inspiring event was great for everyone that attended, we new we were “preaching to the choir”.  Most people that go to the Austin Zoo that are not Vegetarians are probably very receptive to the idea.  If we could help convert only a handful each year to stop eating meat, the number of animal lives saved each year could outnumber the total Austin Zoo animal population; imagine the possibilities after several years!

 

Many other Animal Rescue groups will have tables and perhaps even adoptions at this event.  In a perfect word, there would be no need for the Austin Zoo.  But the hard facts are that there is a need, and it does take a considerable amount of money to support the larger animals; which the Austin Zoo entry fee helps support.

 

 

 

Notes on previous years

 

(From Stevie) on Craig's suggestion, i've also made a list of previous winners from our newsletters, but i've only been able to fill in info for these years:

 

2007

2006

2004

2001

1997

 

we were hoping to find out when the last time the VNA won.  i see we won People's Choice in 2004 (was Don Barnes on vacation that year?!).  i'd love to know whose chili represented the VNA that year.