Thai Red Curry Chili wins Taste of Folly Chili Cookoff
From Staff Reports
Last month’s Chili Cook-off held some hot competition on Center Street during the Taste of Folly Festival. From the more traditional Texas chili to Thai red curry chili, the eight competitors each brought their version of the American classic. In the end, Merrion and Lindsey Pew’s Thai red curry won the judges over, and managed to receive a large chunk of the people’s vote, too.
Being from Oklahoma, Merrion Pew is no stranger to the Southwestern delicacy of chili. But you might wonder “how’d he come up with red Thai curry chili?” Well, he’s actually half Thai. His mom was born and raised in Thailand and lucky for his friends, in more recent years she’s started to share some her family recipes with him. So now Merrion and Lindsey often host Thai night at their house, making everything from larb gai to green mango salad. But the star of the show is always Merrion’s spicy Thai red curry.
So, when the opportunity to marry traditionally American chili with his well-loved Thai curry, it was an exciting challenge. “We honestly can’t believe we won,” said Merrion. “We thought our chili would be too ‘different’ than the traditional chili that we’re used to here in the U.S.” But they did win, edging out second place, Ash Starkey’s Irish Chili, and third place finisher Lindsey Chambers’ Cincinnati Chili (a beanless chili made with cocoa and cinnamon and served over spaghetti noodles). Team Dirty Sanchez’s “Authentic Mexican Chili from West Ashley” received the “People Choice” award, garnering the most votes from Taste of Folly attendees.
It wasn’t a complete runaway for the Thai Red Chili, however, as the judges had plenty of good chilis to choose from. “I was so impressed by how diverse the chilis were,” said Nick Della Peña, judge and co-owner of Jack of Cups Saloon on Center Street. “I like heat, so the Thai Red Curry got my vote. I also really liked the Cincinnati chili. Being from Ohio, I knew it was an authentic version of the Cincinnati classic.”
Another judge, a cook at Sam Grady of Jack of Cups Saloon, liked the Asian inspiration in the Thai Red Curry Chili, but gave her first place vote to Chamber’s Cincinnati Chili. “The Cincinnati chili was my favorite! But I also voted for the Thai red curry because it’s similar to the fusion that we do here at Jack of Cups!” said Grady.
“Honestly, we weren’t really sure how it would turn out, especially using non-typically Thai ingredients like beans and hominy alongside the Thai spices,” said Merrion’s wife Lindsey, who on Thai night, stands in as Merrion’s sous chef and official taste tester. “It took a little tweaking to get the chili just how we wanted it and after pleasing the neighbors with the first round, we figured we were ready for competition.”
Lindsey and Merrion Pew received $100 cash for their victory, as well as a trophy, and most importantly, bragging rights for the next year.
