Black Warrior Brewing Co., a local bar in Downtown Tuscaloosa, hosted its ninth annual Chili Cook-Off competition on Saturday evening. The competition supported Tuscaloosa’s One Place, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving families and their children in the Tuscaloosa area.
“We were looking for a charity to work with and they turned out to be a good one,” said Jason Spikes, co-owner and brewmaster. “It raises a lot of money for their programs and the work that they do helps strengthen our community.” He added that the bar hosts a bingo charity event in the fall.
Kevin Besnoy, executive director of Tuscaloosa’s One Place, could not give an exact estimate of how much money the event has earned the organization in the past, but he did say that in previous years it were able to use the money earned to support between 10 to 20 families in need with $250 worth of resources.
“We’d like to be able to do the same at every event we have,” Besnoy said.
The competition charged $20 for those who wished to compete, and $10 for patrons to taste and vote on their favorite pot of chili. All proceeds were directly given to Tuscaloosa’s One Place to help fund the myriad of programs it provides, including but not limited to a food pantry, after-school programs, early childhood parenting assistance and an employment assistance program.
First, second and third place winners were selected for best non-traditional chili, people’s choice and judges’ choice. The judges’ panel for the last category was made from members of local businesses and the Tuscaloosa community.
While all who placed earned bragging rights and beer tokens they could exchange for a future free drink, the biggest prize was a giant championship-style ring and a $50 Black Warrior gift card that went only to first place winners.
“Black Warrior really is a tremendous community sponsor. They’re always thinking about ways to engage and strengthen the community and make it a better place to live,” Besnoy said.
