Wiley, Young Take Charles City Great Chili Cook-Off Golden Ladle

Charles City Great Chili Cook-Off Winners Announced

The team of Kennen Wiley and Jordan Young edged out Chris Barritt by a single vote to claim the coveted Golden Ladle Award and win the 2024 Great Chili Cook-Off Friday in Charles City. 

The cook-off, which returned for the first time since 2020 with a new format, was hosted by Main Street Charles City at the Columbus Club. Comet Café students from Charles City High School were this year’s featured “celebrity chefs,” with the general public invited to come sample all eight chili creations and vote for their favorite.

 The chilis were randomly numbered, with No. 5 being voted the winning chili (Wiley and Young) to bear out Chili No. 1 (Barritt). There was a 2-way tie for third place between Chili No. 6 (Trevor Carolan) and Chili No. 8 (Clayton Wright). 

There was a 3-way tie for fifth place between Chilis No. 2 (Makenna Baker-Neve), No. 4 (the team of Laurie Baking and Jazznee David, and Chili No. 7 (Connor Dietz). Lukas Vance (Chili No. 3) also received a number of votes in what was a wide-open race, with multiple voters mentioning how good all eight entries were.