Hohman Dons the 2012 Belt of Honor
Princeton, NJ: It was a heated competition October 19th in the Friend Center as contestants vied for the Fifth Annual MAE Chili Throwdown Belt of Honor. Following an exhaustive tasting by judges, Tristen Hohman rose as the 2012 Throwdown Champion and keeper of the Belt of Honor. Tristen promised he will be donning his prize Belt Buckle for the next year. We will hold him to this!
Tristen’s winning chili was a delicious combination of meats, vegetables, and booze with a medley of fresh chilies (Poblano, jalapeño, hot banana, cubanelle). Poblano crème fraiche, shredded smoked cheddar, and tortilla strips (deep fried tortilla strips sprinkled with salt and homemade chili powder) accompanied the chili giving the discerning eater many flavor options. His recipe is disclosed below.
We want to thank our judges: Kim Hegelbach of PRISM, MAE’s newbie faculty member Michael Mueller, and MAE post docs Tyler Groff and Keith Moored for their iron stomachs. The Chili Throwdown was the brainchild of native Texans Mac Haas and Steve Brunton in 2007. Throughout his 5 years of entries, Haas has been sporting a plaid shirt, Wrangler jeans, boots, hat and fashionable “Don’t Mess with Texas” belt buckle. This year he recruited fiancée Beth Wodnick who whipped up a yummy chili pepper chocolate mousse.
Other runners-up winning special prize trophies, ribbons, and plastic spoons included Lex Smits (for the Faculty entry,) Josh Spechler, Team Brian and Leslie Rosenberg, Mary Anne Peters and Chris Limbach for the homemade Avogadro Molé Chili Stout, Justin Little, Jason Wexler, Elizabeth and George Young, and our first Undergrad entry from Peter Na and Elliot Jung. It was a great year!
We hope next year to return to lasso roping, dog wrestling, beer swizzling, and baby kissing events throughout the evening adding to a festive and very fun mood. Our congratulations again, to Tristen Hohman – Keeper of the BELT OF HONOR!
