El Rincon Restaurante Mexicano, Schoolhouse Restaurant and Sedona Fire District walk off with top prizes in the Rotary Club of Sedona Great Sedona Chili Cook-Off
Sedona AZ (May 6, 2015) – Ten of the top restaurants in Sedona and the Verde Valley plus the Sedona and Verde Valley Fire Districts competed in the 5th Annual Great Sedona Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, May 2 sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sedona. The Great Chili Cook-Off and the Silent Auction were held at the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village.
Hundreds of people and a panel of three judges voted for the chili of their choices to determine which restaurant won the Peoples’ Choice Trophy and the Judges’ Trophy. The fire districts competed in the Fire Chiefs’ Challenge for the Chili Chief 2015 award.
El Rincon Restaurante Mexicano walked away with the first place Judges’ Trophy for the fourth year. HP Café placed second in the Judges’ Award and Schoolhouse Restaurant third place. Schoolhouse Restaurant walked away with the first place in the Peoples’ Choice Award and the El Rincon Challenge prize money. El Rincon Restaurante Mexicano and L’Auberge Restaurant on Oak Creek placed second and third in the Peoples’ Choice Award. El Rincon Restaurante Mexicano won Best Booth Decoration. The Schoolhouse Restaurant donated their winnings to the Rotary Club of Sedona.
In the hotly contested Fire Chiefs’ Challenge, the Sedona Fire District placed first in Chili Chief 2015 competition while the Verde Valley Fire District won the best Booth Decoration. The Sedona Fire District donated their winnings to the Fire Fighters’ Charity and the Verde Valley Fire District split their winners between the Fire Fighters’ Charity and the Rotary Club of Sedona.
In addition, a silent auction was held. 100 business and individuals contributed entertainment, restaurants, resort stays, works of art, golf and a motorized model airplane. The value of the gifts ranged from $20 to over $2,000. The top 3 selling items were an Estate Planning Package, a motorized scooter and a stay at LAuberge de Sedona.
Proceeds from the Great Sedona Chili Cook-Off, the silent auction and over 50 generous sponsors goes to the Rotary Club of Sedona for Imagination Library, student scholarships and the Polio Eradication Projects. The primary project recipient is the Imagination Library under which every child in Sedona under the age of 5 who is registered is mailed a free age appropriate book each month. Rotary International projects include Polio Eradication, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, Youth Foreign Exchange, and the Red Rock High School Interact service club plus various local community projects.