Hamlet Senior Center hosts first-ever chili showdown

HAMLET— The Hamlet Senior Center turned up the heat Wednesday with its first chili showdown. While the original plan was for seniors to compete against Hamlet city officials, government workers were unable to participate due to heavy workloads, that didn’t stop the seniors from bringing their best recipes to a competition.

“This is my first time hosting any kind of food judging contest. The center had done it in 2023. It was supposed to be again like it was with city versus center; however, a lot of reports were due, and so the departments are extremely busy getting things ready for the budget meetings for the new city manager, so they were all really bogged down. However, we did have a good turnout from our participants here. We appreciate all of you,” said Amanda Kempen, director of the Hamlet Senior Center.

The competition featured four judges: Channon Fowler, McKenzie Webb, Esco Latimer, Jonterro King and Saon Cheramie. Our reporter from the Journal also served as a tiebreaking judge to determine second place. Each chili was labeled with a number between one and four to maintain anonymity. Kempen was the only person who knew which chili belonged to each contestant. Entries were judged on a scale of one to five across multiple categories, including presentation, aroma, flavor, texture, and spice levels.

“We’re all in suspense. I’ll get better and figure out a better way to do this next year,” said Kempen as the judges sampled the entries.

Adding an unexpected twist, Kempen later revealed that she had secretly entered her own chili into the contest. However, she ensured the judges did not vote for her batch.

Mary Barbee and Gracie Brown, competing as Team M-an-M, secured third place. Vernon McKinnon claimed second, while Debbie Paterson took home first place. Attendees also had the opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice winner, with Paterson’s chili earning the most votes.

The Hamlet Senior Center will welcome the new season with a spring celebration on March 21.