Chomp and Stomp

Chili, bluegrass, friends, banjos, community and beer. What could be a better Saturday afternoon. Chomp and Stomp is an annual chili cook-off and bluegrass festival in Cabbagetown, Georgia. This was the 11th year of the festival and it did not disappoint. Banjoes were playing, people were dancing and I was eating chili. Lots of chili. I never expected to find myself at this festival this weekend as it is during the georgia florida weekend. Usually I would be down in St. Simmons on the beach with my friends. Unfortunately, I could not get work covered so I was forced to stay in town for the weekend. That is until I found out about Chomp and Stomp. I was scrolling through Facebook when I noticed an event posted by my good friend Joel. He is always doing something weird or different so I decided to click on it and see what it was all about. The Chomp and Stomp Facebook page was very interactive, featuring photos from past years and info about this year's festival. I liked what I saw and called up Joel. He said he has been to the festival for the past 3 years and is going again this year. So we gathered a group of friends who weren't going to georgia florida and we cruised down to Atlanta.

We arrived at the festival a bit after noon (the starting time) and it was already packed! Shoulder to shoulder lines for chili tents. Everyone hoping to get a taste of the winning chili. I thought I would be able to eat chili all day but after about 20 small cups of chili I was feeling full. We decided to make a base camp and put down out things so we could explore the festival more. After getting settled I noticed a guy wearing a chili necklace. I asked Joel about it and he said it is a special necklace for people who eat a whole habanero. For some reason that sounded like a great idea to do. So we went in search for the habanero eating contest.

Upon finding the tent we realized that these guys took their peppers seriously. They picked me out a large orange habanero and said 'bon-appetit'. Before he could finish speaking those words I had chewed the pepper up and down the hatch. I dont even thing I thought about it but I did it. I was shocked I had just done it as I used to HATE spicy food. They judges seemed just as shocked as me as they looked on wide eyed at how quickly I popped it in. One of the female judges quickly took off her chili necklace and gave it to me saying "you are the new chili king!". I smiled as much as I could as my face vibrated with heat and I became light headed. My insides were flaming through every pore on my body and my eyes, nose and mouth began to run uncontrollably. The other judge grabbed some cornbread for me but it was no use. I was on for the ride and just had to endure. I said thank you to the judges and walked away in a happy painful weary state of being. The pain finally subsided 20-30 minutes later and I was able to continue enjoying the festival.

The face of a champion

Although I won the chili necklace, my body hated me for over 48 hours. I'd say it was worth it.