Eye-Watering Chili Cook-Off Helps Buy Yearbooks

Nothing says October in Michigan better than a warm and spicy bowl of chili. That's exactly why the students and staff at Hartland's alternative high school decided to sponsor a communitywide chili cook-off on Wednesday to help raise money to buy yearbooks.

And it wasn't easy deciding the winner — just ask Principal Kirk Evenson, who was one of five judges deciding which one of the 10 entries would go home with the top award.

"This is the hardest job I've had yet," Evenson said. "There were some that were really unique and some that had different flavors, some were sweeter and one had a pumpkin flavor to it, which I can't wait to get the recipe for."

In the end, traditional taste won out over bold and spicy. The Hartland Food Club, which includes Hartland High School students Olivia Halbritter, Kaitlyn Loveday and Jake Dickerson, entered its winning recipe from their nutrition class and took the top prize.

"It just seemed to capture what chili is and reminded all of us what chili was about," Evenson said of the winner.

Students organized, set up and ran certain aspects of the cook-off, which was attended by about 50 people at the Hartland Educational Support Service Center, 9525 Highland Road. The event also included a Halloween parade and trick-or-treating for the kids.

"This is an opportunity for our students to participate in the community," said  Evenson. "It's nice for them to have an actual activity that they can plan and then give back."

Kelly Robson, who teaches science and applied communications at the school and helped her students organize the event, said the goal was to raise about $300-$400. The school, which also is housed in the building, has an enrollment of 134 and is formally called LEGACY (Let's Educate, Graduate and Care for our Youth). It serves area at-risk youth.

Sauraya Neubacher, 8, entered her school's pumpkin chili recipe, which came in second. A modest cash prize she received will be put to good use since Neubacher came in with a specific goal in mind. Neubacher attends Maple Tree Montessori Upper Elementary.

"We want to win it for a new rabbit cage, cause right now the cage is really small so we want to get a bigger one," Neubacher said.

Not everyone, however, needed a first place ribbon to let them know they had the best recipe. Sometimes all they needed was a loyal granddaughter.

"Onnie's chili is the best," said 5-year-old Kylie Evenson. Her grandmother, Jeanne Banks, used her mother-in-law's recipe from a hundred years ago.

Joseph LaBallister, who attends LEGACY, designed the chili cook-off T-shirts, which are available for $12. To buy one, contact Kelly Robson at kellyrobson@hartlandschools.us.