Dads Get a Chili Reception at Todos Santos Plaza

Hundreds of people spent part of Father’s Day strolling through Todos Santos Plaza, where they could judge which was the best chili, and enjoy live music and perfect weather.

Families started to flow through the Concord plaza about 11 a.m., as the second annual DadDay in the Plaza Chili Challenge began, stopping for tastes at each of nine chili booths.

Nine tasting tickets cost $20 or four for $10. The money will go to Bikes for Tykes, a program that gives bicycles to low-income children.

Nine teams participated in the cook-off this year — the Concord Police Department, seven firefighter teams and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

John and Deborah Chapman of Concord were enjoying the chili; they tried four recipes.

“I think it is very nice, well orchestrated and good food,” said Deborah Chapman. “It's kind of fun just to have the food and the music a little bit more centralized.”

Antioch native Mars Capen sat on a bench, diligently working his way through nine chili samples. He said the winning chili should not be just about beans and meat.

“It has to have some spice to it, some texture, some different things other than just the meat and the beans,” said Capen.

Deborah Chapman was looking to wake up her taste buds: “I like a lot of flavor; a lot of seasoning and spice.”

Robin Clark of El Sobrante was at the cook-off with her husband, children and in-laws.

“I like how the community can come together,” she said. “It was just a perfect timing to get together for Father’s Day. It’s just great.”

About 3 p.m., the winners for best chili and best decorated booth were announced. Best chili went to Jailhouse Chili and best decorations went to Outlaw Chili, which used props like haystacks and "wanted" cutouts that people could use for photos.

Lee Lawrence of the Concord Police Department and his Jailhouse Chili team took the trophy with a no-bean recipe. Then he spilled the beans:

“An award-winning chili is gonna be traditional to the chili roots, which is it does not have beans in it. Having your special homemade blend of your own chili powder helps, as does having a brown sugar dry-rub on your meat before you cook it.” 

Chris Toler helped organize the event organizer and is a firefighter at Station 6 in Concord. He noted that four teams were in the cook-off last year compared with the nine this time around.

“Next year, hopefully we’ll have it bigger and a better turnout," he said. "Maybe a little bit longer.”