We may not be professional chili makers but we are professional chili eaters. Nothing tastes better than a bowl of chili after working a 12-hour shift at the farm. Walking into our kitchen and smelling mom’s homemade chili…..we live for food!

Now this recipe comes with a story, it’s not every day we create award winning recipes like this one. We had some inspiration and a lot of motivation behind it.

Our team was meeting with MVY Radio to chat about marketing opportunities when they casually mentioned their annual chili competition on Martha’s Vineyard. It was only two weeks away!Two weeks how hard can that be? So we signed up…

Creating our recipe was the best part. Our entire team had to approve of it so we started cooking! We made a chili that was way too spicey, way too tart, and way too sweet. It wasn’t until we tried making a turkey chili that our recipe came to life! The whole team tried it and instantly loved it. We had a recipe!

We got there early and began heating out chili for the competition. We had the privilege to chat with Reading Fire Department, pros when it came to chili. Some laughs and a few beers later the crowd began to trickle in. Our booth was set up right near the entrance. The crowds snaked right in and the competition began. Our chili was a hit right from the start! “The Cranberry People” was our nickname for the day. After hours of partying and chili tasting, it was time for the results. To our surprise, we tied for third in the amateur category and second overall! For our first chili competition, we were proud of our accomplishment.

We began filling out the paperwork to submit to the MVY team. We had thought the hardest part was creating the recipe, boy were we wrong! The paperwork stated “chili competitors must bring 14-15 gallons of chili”……. 15 GALLONS OF CHILI? We needed to call a chili master. Luckily, we are friends with a local one – Tom Strom, owner of the famous Kool Kone located in Wareham MA.He helped us with our measurements and we were able to go from 2 gallons to 15.

Transporting it, on the other hand, was a bit of a challenge… A car ride, a ferry ride, and another car ride later the chili was transported to The Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs where the competition would take place the next morning.

This recipe is now one of our favorite recipes and we make it all the time!