Carolinas Chili Championship
Categories

Below are the categories and prizes available at the Carolinas Chili
Championship (CCC), along with a link to the ICS OFFICIAL RULES. Please
review these following important details.

ICS Traditional Red Chili
Any kind of meat, or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various
spices and other ingredients. Beans and non-vegetable fillers such as rice and
pasta are not allowed. Preference is not given to either cut meat, ground meat,
shredded meat or cubed meat.

ICS Homestyle Chili
Any kind of meat, or combination of meats, and/or vegetables cooked with
beans, chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients. Homestyle chili may
be any color. Beans are required. Preference is not given to either cut, ground,
shredded or cubed meat. Seafood is allowed.

ICS Chili Verde
Any kind of meat, or combination of meats, cooked with green chili peppers,
various spices and other ingredients. Beans and non-vegetable fillers such as
rice and pasta are not allowed. Preference is not given to either cut meat, ground
meat, shredded meat or cubed meat.

ICS Salsa
While no set of ingredients is required for the preparation of salsa, it should
contain chiles. Other vegetable, fruit, spice and herb ingredients may be added at
the cook’s discretion. Salsa MUST be homemade by the contestant. Commercial
salsa will not be accepted. Salsa may be prepared ahead of time or on site.

ICS Prizing and Rules
Every cook-team competing in an ICS category is required to provide people’s
choice chili and will be eligible to compete for the people’s choice prize. People’s
Choice prizing and rules appear below. Prizes for the Carolinas Chili
Championship weekend ICS competitions along with ICS rules and guidelines
can be found at ICS Chili, Inc. (chilicookoff.com)

CAROLINAS CHAMPIONSHIP
This is not an ICS category. Only residents of North Carolina or South Carolina are eligible to compete and win prizes. Chili that is entered in this category can be prepared on site or in advance following SCDHEC health-code requirements. Entries in this category must contain fresh or ground chili peppers. All other ingredients including meat, tomatoes, any variety of beans, pasta, seasonings, and other ingredients required to make your best chili are permissible. All ingredients must be sourced from a licensed, commercial
supplier.

Carolinas Championship winners will receive for 1st Place $500 and a Banner; for
2nd Place $250 and a Placard, and for 3rd Place $125 and a Placard.

Contestants competing in the above categories are also entered into the
following:

PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Each of the tasting kits provided to the public will include a plastic token to award
to their favorite chili. The contestant getting the most tokens will receive the
People’s Choice prize.

CCC will provide an official sealed token collection container with a team number
on the bottom to collect people’s choice tokens. If two cook teams are sharing a
booth, two people’s choice containers will be provided. The collection containers
will be picked up from each booth by CCC after 4 PM.

Public sampling is key to the financial success of the Carolinas Chili
Championship. Any cook-team handing out chili to the public without requiring
tasting tickets will forfeit their eligibility to receive cash prizes in all categories.
Each cook team is required to provide a minimum of 2 gallons of people’s choice
chili but 5 – 10 gallons is recommended to ensure that you have enough chili to
last throughout the event. The longer you have chili to serve the better your
chances to claim the People’s Choice Award.

1st Place Prize: $1,000, Award, and bragging rights!

Notice: To ensure a fair result, any cook-team losing or tampering with the
sealed collection container and/or any cook-team giving plastic tokens to another
cook-team will be disqualified from the people’s choice competition.

SHOWMANSHIP

Creativity: Judges will be looking for booth decor that conveys a theme and
creates a memorable visual effect for the public.

Crowd Engagement: Cleverness, a sense of humor and playful antics that
engage and entertain the crowd creating a sense of excitement will score well
here. Carolinas Chili Championship asks that all contestants be willing to be
photographed and interviewed.

Costumes: Matching T-shirts or aprons are options, however, know that judges
are looking for splashy, colorful uniforms/costumes that represent the team name
and theme.

1st Place Prize: Award and bragging rights!