Tongue Point JCC students and staff cook up award-winning chili

Autumn may be a cold and rainy season in the Pacific Northwest.  But there’s definitely something hot cooking up at the mouth of the Columbia River this fall.

In Astoria, Oregon, Tongue Point Job Corps Center students and staff recently formed three teams to enter the Oregon State Chili Cook-off, sponsored by the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI).  What’s more – all three of the center’s teams placed in the competition’s Top 10!

The center’s team calling itself the Chili Pack placed 10th in the competition, while the center’s Tantalizing Taste Buds team placed one notch higher, at ninth.

But the TPJCC team that raked in the most prizes and honors was the Smokin' Eagles. That team of students and staff members placed first in the Cooks’ Choice competition, third in the People’s Choice category and fourth overall.

Officials say the cooks’ choice award is bestowed after all cooks in the competition are blindfolded and then select their favorite.

The high-placing Smokin’ Eagles have also qualified to be one of the teams representing Oregon in the National Chili Cook-off held annually in Terlingua, Texas.

(Posted 10/30/08)

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