Hungry people and cooks enjoy a chili night in Lewiston

LEWISTON — Hundreds of hungry people filled the conference room of the Ramada Inn on Tuesday for the 16th annual Chili & Chowder Taste Challenge.

Before the doors opened at 5:30 p.m., people lined up outside of the conference room, some with aprons tied around their waists and others clutching muffin tins to hold the containers of chili and chowder.

The fundraiser, which benefits Longley Elementary School and The Green Ladle Scholarship Fund, offers samples of chili and chowder and people vote for their favorite in each category.

Best in Show went to Governor’s Restaurant, which took first place in the Chef’s Award for best chili and chowder, first place in the People’s Choice Award for best chowder, and second place in the People’s Choice Award for best chili.

Other restaurants that won top honors included Jasmine Cafe, Rolly’s Diner and Webster Street Convenience and Deli.

Fourteen restaurants signed up to participate in the challenge, with some returning for their 16th year and one — Pedro O’Hara’s — making its first appearance in the challenge.

Rose Begin, a retired nurse from Lewiston, said she and her husband had heard about the Chili & Chowder Taste Challenge for years, but never had the time to attend.

“We’re both retired now,” begin said, “so we figured it was the perfect time to check it out.”

Meanwhile, Katrina Guignard of Turner said she had attended every challenge for the past 16 years.

“I’m pretty sure I was one of the first people to bring muffin tins to hold the chili and chowder containers,” Guignard said. “I can always tell the amateurs at the event from the people who have been here every year by the size of the muffin tins they bring. Newbies bring huge muffin tins and quickly realize that it’s too big for the cups of chili and chowder.”

Julie and Chris L’Hommedieu, entering their 10th year of buying tickets to the Chili & Chowder Taste Challenge, had handcrafted clipboards with holes big enough to fit the chili containers and space for them to tabulate and rate their favorite chili and chowder.

“The first couple of times we came here, we’d forget which ones we liked the most,” Julie L’Hommedieu said. “We figured out a way to make it much more efficient. We like to write down and rank which chili or chowder we liked the best.”

Scott Merrill of Oxford, another first-timer at the challenge, said his girlfriend convinced him to buy a ticket.

“I think this is awesome,” Merrill said, adding he had enjoyed the Governor’s Restaurant chili the most.

“It’s definitely a hot chili,” he said, “but I really liked it.”

Students from The Green Ladle prepared breads and desserts for people to try after the chili and chowder.

Best in Show