Chili a kick for Nahant soccer

NAHANT – Spicy, a kick of chocolate, served in a bag of Frito’s – these were some of the unique entries in this weekend’s Nahant Youth Soccer Chili Challenge.The competition, held Saturday at the Knights of Columbus in Nahant, raised money for the youth soccer league, which coaches children up to third grade and supports a college scholarship for league alumni, said soccer league president Susan Rosa.The fourth annual chili competition featured 18 chilis ranging on the flavor scale from sweet and mild to a two-alarm fire in your mouth.Hot or not, every chili had a little kick, said some of the patrons attending.”I’m like sweating from all the chili,” said Jean Botta as she dipped into a chili simply called “homemade.”Botta and her husband, Dave, were tasting the competition for Dave’s sweet-with-a-sizzle chili entry.”It’s a spicy yet sweet chili,” he said, declining to describe the magic ingredients.Jane Botta said the other entries were good but that they didn’t stand a chance against her husband’s.”I’m not being biased, but I think my husband’s is one of the best ones,” she said.Contestant Maureen DeCenzo was also trying other chilis. She worked for three days to create her chocolate chili, which she made with bars of unsweetened chocolate and orange zest.She said the Chili Challenge is a great way to pull together a town.”This brings everybody out, all the soccer families,” she said.But the Chili Challenge is above all a competition.Four judges – mostly past presidents of the soccer league – rated the 18 chilis for taste, presentation and heat in a blind taste test. They tallied their scores in the basement of the Knights of Columbus, away from the prying eyes of contestants.Dave Conlin said the chili contest actually started about 21 years ago as a way for Nahant soccer coaches to gleam advice from the more-talented Swampscott teams.”We knew we couldn’t beat ?em in soccer ? but we made better chili than they did,” he said.He joked about his tough job as a judge of the best chili in Nahant.”There’s very few people who go through 18 chilis and stay alive,” Conlin said.While some of the entries featured surprise ingredients, this year’s winner was not a surprise. Judges declared Jim Godwin’s bourbon-spiked chili as overall best chili for the fourth year in a row.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].