McALESTER —
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary hosted its third annual chili cook-off Thursday afternoon in the rotunda area of the prison.
“This is the third year of the cook-off,” said OSP Safety Officer Jerry Hunt. “And we have 17 contestants entered this year.”
The chili cook-off chefs were competing in two separate categories: Best Overall and Hottest Chili. And the 2012 OSP Chili Cook-off winners were named after the judges tasted all 17 chili entries. OSP Sgt. Butch Petty won Best Overall Chili and OSP Sgt. Richard Brown won Hottest Chili.
Petty works as a programs officer in OSP’s mental health unit and said he was “surprised” with his win in the chili contest. “I’m not a cook,” Petty said. “But yes, I’m very happy. It took me about two hours to make the chili.”
Brown said he was “pretty happy” with his win too. “I used Mad Dog 357 Hot sauce in my chili,” Brown said. “This kind of heat is measured in scovilles,” Brown said. “And this sauce has 357,000 scovilles.”
For their wins, Petty and Brown received a 2012 OSP Chili Cook-Off apron and their names will be added to the annual chili cook-off plaque. Also on the plaque are the names of previous years’ winners, including: Larry Long for 2011 Best Overall chili, Amanda Workman for 2011 Hottest Chili, Terri Heaslet for 2010 Best Overall chili and Randall Workman for 2010 Hottest Chili.
“The cook-off is a fundraising event for the OSP Employee Council,” Hunt said. “We normally raise about $500 and those funds go back to OSP employees. We use money from that fund to buy equipment that employees may need or fund events, such as the annual Christmas party.”
While OSP employees were tasting a variety of chili entries, some were daring others to take a single spoonful of Brown’s Hottest Chili. One News-Capital reporter ate a single spoonful of that Hottest Chili, and after 30 minutes of a burning mouth, constant sweat and uncontrollable tears (and snot), she conceded that Brown’s chili is, by far, the hottest chili she ever ate.
Contact Rachel Petersen at rpetersen@mcalesternews.com.
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