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Eight competitors participated in
the annual Double D’s Memorial Chili Cook-off on Saturday, August 8
at the Logan County Fair. The event has become part of fair
tradition for many of the participants.
The cook-off is always held at the Knights of Columbus Pavilion
during the final weekend of the fair.
Dirk Conrady took over in 2024 after Doug Ritterbush stepped down
from the role in 2023. Sadly, Ritterbush died just weeks after the
2023 fair. What was previously known as the Doug Demay Chili Cook
Off was renamed Double D’s Memorial Chili Cook-Off last year memory
of both men.
Competitors were mostly veterans of the cook-off but there were some
new entrants. Some chilis were spicy, some were sweet, some were
meaty, some had veggies and some had all the above.
The chili cook-off is a fun place to be as competitors give everyone
an opportunity to sample their chili. Those who sampled chilis seem
to enjoy various flavor combinations.
Chad Geisler, Gage Geisler and Seth
Unger were newcomers to the event. Their chili had sweet heat and
was made with veggies and smoked meat that included ground beef,
pork chorizo and ground pork.
Second timers Aughenbaugh, Alex
Schonauer and Andy Krusz of team three GD wore hats that made them
look like Guy Fieri. They made their chili a little on the spicy
side, using one pound each of ground beef, breakfast sausage and
sweet Italian sausage plus sweet bell peppers to balance out the
spice.
Veteran competitor Christy Cross
and Anna Sheley cooked their chili in memory of “Bud Man” Doug
Ritterbush. They followed Doug’s recipe closely using a special
blend of secret ingredients.
Lisa Conrady, another veteran
competitor, made a sweet chili with ground beef and ground venison
and a variety of seasonings.
Dave Eyrse, who has participated in
the cookoff for many years, said his chili was plain old basic chili
with ground beef and ground pork plus a little heat.
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Jim and Sandy Bobell, who won the
competition in 2024 and 2005, made chili that was somewhere between
sweet and spicy. They used traditional burger meat, beans and
seasonings.
Jennifer Luckhart and Nick White
used Nuthatch Hill brisket plus sausage and hamburger. Their chili
was on the sweet side.
Tommy Cecil, competing for the
fourth year, made chili with medium heat, but on the hot side. It
was a typical homestyle chili made with six different chili powders.
After the judges sampled the chilis, chose which table had the best
presentation, counted the people’s choice monies and tallied the
results, the winners were announced.
2026 winners included:
Christy Cross won best
presentation, people’s choice and third place.
Second place was awarded to
previous champions Jim and Sandy Bobell.
First place was Tommy Cecil, who is
2023’s champion.
Prize winnings include $250 for third place, $350 for second place,
$500 for first place and $150 for best presentation.
As top placer, Cecil will have his name on a plaque in the fair
office.
Double D’s Memorial Chili Cook-off at the Logan County Fair photo
slideshow
[Angela Reiners]
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