This years' date: October 14, 2023. Stay tuned for more information.

Downloads: Contestant Info (PDF)

ICS applicants click here

For ICS applicants: Click on the map marker #27 and then click "REGISTER" for "Chilifest 2023, West Virginia State Championship" on the lefthand side of the page.

This year’s ChiliFest 2023, the West Virginia State Chili Championship, will be our 39th year of championship chili cooking in Huntington. ChiliFest registration begins at 8:00 am and the day’s activities will be well on its way for another championship event benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Huntington. Due to the generosity of the many cooking teams in the past, ChiliFest has now raised over $600,000 for the Ronald McDonald House. Your participation will ensure a big crowd, a big event and a big result for the Ronald McDonald House. We will again, through the help of Advantage Toyota, be raffling a 2022 Toyota RAV4 and draw the winning name at 6:00 pm from the stage. All in all it’s a big day in Huntington on Saturday, October 14th, for ChiliFest 2023, and we look forward to your team’s participation.

Lodging

DoubleTree by Hilton (downtown) 1001 3rd Ave (304) 525-1001
Delta by Marriott (downtown) 800 3rd Ave (304) 523-8880
The Ramada Inn Limited (3.3 miles) 3094 16th Street Road (304) 523-4242
The Super 8 Motel (3.4 miles) 3090 16th Street Road (304) 525-1410
*Fairfield Inn (3.5 miles) 536 Kinetic Drive (304) 696-8777

Additional hotels in the area around the Huntington Mall include:

Arrival

All cooking teams should plan to arrive starting at 8:00 am, Saturday, October 14th to set up. You will need to enter the cookoff area at 3rd Avenue by way of 8th Street and come to the Registration/Judging Tent to register. Please unload your equipment after registration and move your vehicle outside the cookoff area to one of the parking garages or other nearby lots. Vehicles should be out of the cookoff area no later than 9:30 am. A reminder that any vehicle parked in the Pullman Square street area is subject to towing.

Registration

Registration will begin at 8:00 am and end at 9:30 am at the Registration/Judging Tent on 3rd Avenue and 8th Street. You will have a pre-assigned tent and cooking area. Tables are provided in all assigned cooking locations. At the registration area you will receive your official ICS judging cup(s) and hospitality kit. Verification of ICS membership will take place at registration. Please be ready to present your current ICS membership card when registering and you must sign the cook’s roster. ICS cooks will need to register with the ICS at www.chilicookoff.com/ before Saturday, October 14th for the categories you will be competing in. You can pay for those at the registration tent on the morning of October 14th.

Cooks Meeting

The cooks meeting will begin at 10:00 am at the Judging Tent located at 3rd Avenue & 8th Street. A final roll call will take place and answers to any questions you may have along with final instructions for the cookoff pertaining to rules and turn-in times will be answered. This meeting will end at 10:20 am after which time you may return to begin cooking Homestyle Chili, Chili Verde and Salsa. Please observe the schedule of events posted for times of events and turn-in for chili and salsa at the Judging Tent area.

Rules

See “Official Contestant Rules and Regulations” found on your official ICS web site at chilicookoff.com.

Judging

All chili will be turned-in at the Judging Tent area. Turn-in times are:

Judging will follow International Chili Society guidelines. The Head Judge is Diane Lentz, the Head Scorekeeper is Larry Lentz, ChiliFest Chairman is Ron Smith. The decision of the judges will be final and announced stage side at approximately 5:30 pm.

Equipment

Stoves will need to be of a “Coleman” camping type, which means fuel or propane stoves, no charcoal grills and electricity is not available for cooking. We will provide tent space and tables for all registered participants. Registered participants will be considered those applicants that have pre-paid the ICS membership fee and the ChiliFest registration fee.

Cabell County Health Department

The following are the general guidelines by the Cabell County Health Department for outdoor events. If you have any questions you may contact them at (304) 523-6483 and ask for Environmental Health. The following minimum guidelines are for food safety:

Entry Fees

ChiliFest 2023 is the International Chili Society’s sanctioned West Virginia State Championship. All cooks participating must be current ICS members in good standing or register to be an ICS member before cooking. You may register for the ICS the morning of the cookoff at the registration area. A one year membership into the ICS is $45, a three cookoff registration is $25, a single day cookoff registration is $10. The registration fee for ChiliFest is: $40 for ICS Red Chili; $35 for Chili Verde; $30 for Homestyle Chil, Salsa is $10. All commercial entries entering in the People’s Choice category to promote your business the fee is $100, individual team entry is $40 . Each entry will get one corner of a 20’ x 20’ tent space from which to cook. Requests for additional space requires an upgrade charge. Please see the corporate and upgrade tent charges listed. Entry fees should be mailed to:

ChiliFest 2023
P.O. Box 523
Huntington, WV 25710-0523


Corporate Tents or Additional Tent space requests:

Due to the growing number of requests for larger tent space or whole tents for company/corporate teams ChiliFest is striving to meet the community demands. Keep in mind that these additional spaces are limited due to the growing number of requests and space available at our ChiliFest cookoff site.

Prizes

Prizes will be awarded for all of the following categories of judging.

ICS Red Chili:

Chili Verde:

ChiliFest will add the International Chili Society Home-Style Chili as a competition category.

Home-Style is a no-holds-barred category of chili made the way many would make at home with beans added as an ingredient. It can be spicy, sweet, tomato-based, any meat, delicious chili, but must have beans to compete. If you’ve never cooked as a competitor in an ICS event here’s your entry opportunity to cook whatever you like to enter. This year the ICS has made a one-time competition fee for newcomers of just $10.00 to be an ICS member. Entry fees for Home-Style is $30.00 and First and Second places will qualify to cook in the World’s Championship Chili Cookoff for a $20,000 First Place prize. If you’ve been thinking of throwing in your chili hat into the competition ring here’s your chance to cook chili with the Big Dogs! Go to www.chilicookoff.com for more information on Home-Style Chili cooking rules and ideas.

Best Booth/Showmanship Award:

The Showmanship Award will be given to the team that best displays the spirit of the event. Each booth will be judged in three criteria: Booth Display, Costume & Spirit. The points will be tallied for a final score to determine the winner. The decision of the judges is final.

People's Choice / "Hardest Working Chili Team":

This award goes to the team that sells the most People’s Choice chili and collects the greatest number of sample tickets. The prize is $150 and a Blenko Glass Golden Chile trophy. Details of where and when to turn in your tickets of the judging count will be announced at the Cooks Meeting at 10:00 a.m.