The Latest Was The Greatest
The recent Puerto Vallarta Chili Cook-Off (February 17) turned out to be a most successful event. Here are the results of the Cook-Off competition held this past February 17.
A lot of people have asked about how we conduct the chili voting. We do two separate versions: Popular and Professional. In the Popular Vote, everyone in attendance receive one ticket to vote for his or her favorite chili. If a particular entrant sells a lot of tickets and has a lot of followers, they stand a good chance of
winning. It is a popularity contest, after all.
The professional part of the process is a completely blind judging process. The judges arrive at the Cook-Off and head to the judging tables without first visiting the chili booths. They are brought trays of chili with only the number of the chili they are judging visible, not the source.
The 2024 Judges:
Chef Apostolis Blougouras (Owner/Chef of Mykonos Greek Restaurant)
Jeffrey Mitchell (New York Chef & Owner/Chef of Creative Chef PV)
Hollis Harris (Was the Grillmaster/Pitmaster/Smoker King of El Rio BBQ)
Jessy Ruiz & Brent Lane (Jessy is the Host & Producer and Brent Lane is the Co-Host of ASPHALT Vallarta’s all-English radio show). These two judged together with their decision counting only as one vote.
And here are all the winners:
Popular Vote:
1st Place Captain Don’s #4 – 136 votes
2nd Place Jay Sadler #16 – 66 votes
3rd Place Nacho Daddy #7 – 56 votes
Professional Vote:
1st Place Captain Don’s #4 – Score of 127
2nd Place Murphy’s #10 – Score of 112
3rd Place Nacho Daddy #7 – Score of 110
CONTACT INFORMATION
Puerto Vallarta Chili Cook-Off
https://pvchilicookoff.com/
Jim Sullivan
322-168-7515
jim@pvchilicookoff.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The public and the pros have been in agreement the past two Cook-Offs as the 1 st place winners in each category have been the same. We feel that’s an indication the judging is a completely fair and honest process.
After all the setbacks in 2023 this year’s Cook-Off was a great success. Consider:
Attendance: 624. A 33% increase from last year.
Chili Chefs: 14. Two more than 2023 (and we did have 4 late cancellations)
Vendor profits: Increased 25%. This result has a direct effect on the Cook-Off’s overall receipts as each vendor donates 25% of their intake back to the Cook-Off.
Event Profit: $230,000 (pesos). The highest in 4 years! We were able to achieve this even though prices (attendance, drinks, food) have remained stable over the past five years. Our entry ticket prices (both General Admission and Reserved) are the lowest in the area for a comparable event – where else can you get so much free food and entertainment for less?
The Charities We Support: A portion of the funds raised at the Chili Cook-Off will go to Toys for Tots Puerto Vallarta to allow them to purchase more toys and serve even more under-served communities in the Bay of Banderas area. This past January hundreds of toys were handed out at schools throughout the area.
The Jay Sadler Project A.C. is a recognized Jalisco-based non-profit organization. They provide necessary resources to improve various institutions in the Banderas Bay area and Puerto Vallarta. These include Day Care Centers, Public Schools in rural areas, and other private charitable institutions. Funds from the Chili Cook-Off allow them to do more projects in more deserving communities.
Thank you to each and every one of you in making this year’s Chili Cook-Off a success!
We’ve already secured the date (February 22) for next year’s Chili Cook-Off, again at Salón Rancho Alegre.
You may keep up-to-date with all things Chili Cook-Off at https://pvchilicookoff.com/.
Jay Sadler Project A.C. Charity Music Festival A Huge Success
Money Raised to Fund Community Projects For the Coming Year
On Saturday, April 17, the Jay Sadler Project A.C. held its first Charity Music Festival at El Rio BBQ Bar in Col. Paso Ancho.
A considerable amount of the yearly funding for the non-profit comes via the Puerto Vallarta Chili Cook-Off held annually each February. The 2021 Cook-Off had to be cancelled due to strict Covid regulations. So plans for a restricted seating event at the old home of the Cook-Off, El Rio BBQ Bar, were developed. Ticket sales were limited to 250 and the event quickly sold out.
Attendees enjoyed a day of great music from four of the top bands in the area: Calavera Beach, Johanna Delgado and Her Band, Texas Embassy Blues Band, and La Trez Cuartoz, as well as great food and drink. Thank you to the following Sponsors for supporting our Puerto Vallarta Musicians: From Michigan – P. Williams Productions, Patty Williams, Gini Haffner, David T Weber, Glenn & Linda Alday, Mike & Jo McGinnis and Ron & Lois DeHaan and from Puerto Vallarta – Blake’s Restaurant & Bar, PV Cupcakes, Pancho’s Villas Real Estate & Developing, Memories Paninoteca Café as well as many anonymous Sponsors.
To connect the event to the Chili Cook-Off, past winners (Escondida Sports Bar, Nacho Daddy, Murphy’s Irish Pub, and Captain Don’s Sports Bar) brought chili that was distributed with every meal purchased.
Through ticket sales, raffles, a 50/50 draw, a Silent Auction and a large donation from El Rio itself, a total of $172,475.51 MXN was raised. These funds will go a long way to help the Jay Sadler Project A.C. continue its work in many of the under-served communities of the greater Puerto Vallarta area.
(Kurt Sinner, top, 2nd from left, of El Rio, presents a check to Jay Sadler Project President, Dennis Rike, Center, seated. Chili Cook-Off Committee members present were, bottom, L-R, Jim Mawdesley, Donna Wong, Mary Deniz. Top row, L-R, Ryan Bymaster, Dinia Hernandez Sequeira, Jim Sullivan, Dave Fisher.)
The Jay Sadler Project A.C. was established 2013 and became an A.C. June 2018. Its mission is to work with government & private social agencies to identify those in need. Their objective is to provide necessary resources to improve various institutions in the Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay area. These institutions include day care centers, senior citizen homes and schools for the disabled, public schools in rural areas and other private charitable institutions. They also provide building maintenance, repairs and install playgrounds in the community.
In 2018, the Jay Sadler Project A.C. completed 38 projects benefiting 2,564 children, seniors, and other adults. In 2019, 44 projects benefiting 2,750 children, seniors, and other adults were done. In 2020, during the pandemic, 26 projects benefiting 1680 children, seniors, and other adults were finished. In 2020, in addition to their normal community assistance programs, the Jay Sadler Project A.C. recognized the need to assist the area’s multiple Food Banks and distributed 684 bags of food valued at $15,000 pesos each and made cash donations to the Vallarta Food Bank and other organizations.
Thank you to everyone that attended. Your participation and generosity helped make this a very successful event.
Volunteers from Yoga Retreat Contribute to the Puerto Vallarta Community
May 30, 2017
Banderas Bay American Legion Post 14 in coordination with the Jay Sadler Project finished DIF Community Center 224 in Colonia Independencia.
We worked with volunteers supplied by Julien Fruchier, Founder of Greenster Inc. Julien had a yoga retreat in Puerto Vallarta. The group came to PV for a week of yoga and rest and relaxation. The ladies wanted to contribute to the community while on their retreat.
PVAngels put the group in contact with the Jay Sadler Project. Work included painting interior, exterior, repairing the roof and playground. Later in the week the park was cleaned and 57 large bags of debris and leaves were removed.
We started the DIF Community Center in Colonia 12 de Octobre. Employees from the Hyatt Hotel participated Saturday. Work included removing the tiles from the roof for repairs during the week, painting the interior and exterior.
We returned to Colonia El Caloso to paint a playground and install 3 swing seats. The swing seats are made out of recycled tires.
Upcoming projects include 1067 Col. San Esteban DIF Community Center, Playground repair near Children’s Cancer Screening Center, Vista Hermosa playground and daily maintenance Aurora Recreation Center behind Walmart.
The Jay Sadler Project works with American Legion Post 14 and the Navy League of Vallarta on Community Relations projects.
For more information and to become involved, please email Dennis Rike at dennis2rike@hotmail.com.
