Junction Harvest Festival 2015: Chili cookoff returns! Now seeking competitors

(WSB photo: Serving up Harvest Festival chili tastes for judges – that means you! – during 2014 festival)
Which West Seattle restaurant will win this year’s Harvest Festival chili competition, delighting tastebuds and raising money for the West Seattle Food Bank? Just announced – the field is open for entries:

The West Seattle Junction Association is sponsoring a fundraiser for the West Seattle Food Bank at our 4th Annual Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 25th. Our neighborhood restaurants will bring their best pot of chili and compete for bragging rights of Best Chili at Harvest Festival – 2015. It’s free for restaurants to enter. The West Seattle public will vote by buying a flight of chili and choosing their favorite! 100% of the donations collected will go to the West Seattle Food Bank to help our community. In the past two years, this competition has raised over $4500 for the food bank!

Some logistics and rules to enter. Participants must:

* Be a West Seattle business.
* Bring 2.5 gallons of hot chili made in commercial kitchen. We’ll have chafing dishes but bring it hot!!
* Provide a chili server who has a current Food Handlers Card. Restaurant owner, lead chef, or manager preferred.
* Be ready to serve at 11 am! With 2.5 gallons of chili, we’ll be able to serve over 100 flights and the competition will be done by 1 pm.
* We have room for only 9 competitors. First come, first serve, don’t delay.

We’ll provide everything else. To register, please e-mail susan@wsjunction.org with your business name, contact person, and agreement that rules will be followed. Deadline Friday, October 16th.

Last year, West Seattle caterer Deano’s was the winner; the year before that, Husky Deli.

P.S. Along with chili, trick-or-treating (at noon and not a second sooner) is part of the Harvest Festival, as is the costume parade (now confirmed – West Seattle High School Marching Band will lead the way again!), harvest activities, and the Farmers’ Market, all happening in the street in the heart of The Junction, 10 am-2 pm Sunday, October 25th.