Fort Hood Garrison Command hosts 2014 Chili Cook-off

By U.S. ArmyFebruary 18, 2014

Fort Hood Garrison Command hosts 2014 Chili Cook-off
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Special instructions are left on a chili entry during the 2014 Fort Hood Garrison Chili Cook-off at the Central Fire House Feb. 13. During this event, 18 various organizations throughout the community came together for an afternoon to put aside all o... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Hood Garrison Command hosts 2014 Chili Cook-off
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Laura Read, senior station manager with Red Cross, casts her vote of a chili entry during the 2014 Fort Hood Garrison Chili Cook-off at the Central Fire House Feb. 13. Participants in the competition looked forward to prizes and gift cards from the R... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Hood Garrison Command hosts 2014 Chili Cook-off
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Andres Martinez, a combat engineer with U.S. Army Garrison Headquarters and Headquarters Company, and a native of Del Rio, Texas, lends a helping hand during the 2014 Fort Hood Garrison Chili Cook-off at the Central Fire House Feb. 13. Throughou... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Hood Garrison Command hosts 2014 Chili Cook-off
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Members of Fort Hood Garrison serve up samples of chili for the panel of judges during the 2014 Fort Hood Garrison Chili Cook-off at the Central Fire House Feb. 13. Chili is defined as a combination of flavors and spices often a reflection of the tas... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Hood Garrison Command hosts 2014 Chili Cook-off
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Bruce Davis, cook-off winner, and Col. Matthew G. Elledge, Fort Hood Garrison Commander pose for a photo during the 2014 Fort Hood Garrison Chili Cook-off at the Central Fire House Feb. 13. Davis prepared for the event by preparing several batches an... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HOOD, Texas -- Under clear skies, a cool breeze flowed through the open bay at the Central Fire Station here as 18 various on-post organizations took part in the 2014 Fort Hood Garrison Command Chili Cook-off Feb. 13.

"The chili cook-off is a good way to get everybody's spirit back up and have some good competitive fun," said Susan Davis, Garrison Command Executive Secretary, of Oroville, Calif.

The contest consisted of two rounds, said Davis.

During the first round, equipped with plenty of water, napkins, and grapes to cleanse their pallets, a panel of six judges sampled 17 different entries.

"We scored the entry according to different categories, such as color, aroma, consistency, taste and aftertaste," said Command Sgt. Maj. Douglas Gault, of San Francisco, the senior enlisted adviser for the Garrison and a competition judge.

As the judges finished sampling, some were left with a greater appreciation of the vast diversity in the community.

"When you taste the chili, you can definitely taste the culture," said Gault. "Some chili is really spicy, others have a Hawaiian taste to it, and others you can taste the bell pepper."

"It was real nice to know that we have a lot of cultures and a lot of good cooks within garrison," he added.

The judges then tallied their votes to reveal the three finalists. Those whose entries had been eliminated became to judges for the second round.

And the winner is...

Bruce Davis, Fort Hood Garrison Employee and first place winner, who proved patience and dedication to be the main ingredients to his success.

"I did three batches of chili," said Davis. "I got my co-workers to critique them real hard and I perfected it."

As the event came to a close and all returned to work, the participants spoke of the importance of this kind of event.

"Any time you can do something like this it draws everybody out to participate, get away and out of the office for a little bit and I think it's good," said Davis

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Fort Hood Garrison Command hosts 2014 Chili Cook-off