Chili Showdown

2026 CHILI SHOWDOWN RULES

Event Details

The 2026 East Tennessee Gleaners Co-Op Chili Showdown will take place on Saturday, October 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Redemption Church, 75 Commercial Drive, Crossville.

Entry Requirements

·     Pre-register and pay $15 entry fee online. Registration on day of event at the door is $20.

·     Bring at least 5 quarts of cooked chili, heated and ready to serve.

·     Keep the chili in a covered crockpot or another electric warming container.

·     Sterno is not allowed.

·     Chili may be traditional with beans, bean-free, vegetarian, chicken, green, or another style. Every entry must contain some form of chili pepper.

Registration and Check-In

·     Deliver your chili no later than 10:30 a.m. on the day of the event.

·     At check-in, each entrant will receive a unique three-digit identification number.

·     No other signage is permitted other than the unique three-digit identification number.

·     Entrants must leave their chili in the monitored serving area. Team members may not remain in the serving or scoring area.

Tasting and Judging

Public tasting and voting will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each entry will be rated on a five-point scale in the following categories:

·        Appearance

·        Aroma

·        Taste

·        Spice level

·        Texture

Scores in each category will be added together to determine the entry’s overall score.

Awards

Beginning at 3 p.m., all scores will be tallied and the winners announced.

1.     First place: $100 cash and ETGC T-Shirt coupon

2.     Second place: $25 cash and ETGC T-Shirt coupon

3.     Third place: ETGC T-shirt coupon

Entrants do not need to remain on-site throughout the entire day. However, they do need to register/check-in by 10:30 a.m. with ready-to-serve chili and then be back on-site by 2:45 p.m.