“Eat Up” Chili Cookoff Brings The Fire

There was the hickory-smoked chili from Bear’s Smokehouse. Chili with the tang of lime from Kady Ann Brown’s 173 Surf and Turf. An otherworldly blend of spices and peppers from Poreyah Benson’s Vegan Ahava. And one so hearty and nourishing it defied the contention of Sandra’s Next Generation’s Sharwyn Pittman that it contained no meat.

Those formidable entrants put those culinary wonders on display at the first annual Eat Up Chili Cookoff at the Omni Hotel, for a good cause.

More than 120 people bought tickets for $25 for the right to sample the chili of each contestant and choose a winner at Saturday’s event, as well as to enjoy the offerings of local vendors and businesses.

The problem was, as New Haven resident Kaila Brown put it, ​“It’s all so good. How do you choose?”

The Cookoff was the brainchild of Brian Burkett Thompson and Kristen Threatt, founders of Eat Up Catering and the Eat Up Foundation.

The two created Eat Up Catering in March 2019. Its mission: to cultivate Burkett-Thompson’s cooking chops and Threatt’s business smarts to change communities for the better. Its tagline: ​“community over competition.”

Then they started to see success. Hilton Hotel in Charlotte, N.C., came calling. The two signed on to provide catering services. But they stayed in New Haven.

“Our vision is here,” said Threatt, as groups of twos and threes crossed into the event space. ​“This is where we can make a difference. The contract with Hilton allows us to do what we want to do here.”

They went to Chaz Carmon, president of the anti-violence group Ice the Beef. ​“We started working together, creating backpack drives, toy drives,” said Carmon, who emceed the event.

“And today we’re bringing restaurants together, businesses together, and from whatever we raise, we’re going to feed a whole lot of people,” he said.

Carmon was referring to Eat Up’s plan to use the proceeds to distribute food and care bags to those experiencing homelessness next Saturday, Nov. 20, at the People’s Center on 37 Howe St. 

But before that, there was chili to sample.

Over in the college room, Jason Davis, representing Jazzy’s Cabaret, a new restaurant and nightspot at Orange and George, was serving chili with spring beef patty and a side of sweet potato cornbread.

“We’re here to get our name out there, but also show support for the community,” Davis said, handing a cup to Ronald Smith, as strains of Usher pulsed through the mellow lit space.

Smith pointed out his son, Jonathan Henderson, the owner of Elegant Productions Photography, who was setting up in the corner.

“We came here to support him and check out what’s happening,” he said, as Sherry Warren joined him at a cocktail table.

“I like to see a lot of young people here doing something productive,” Warren said, as she dipped her spoon in the cup and had a taste. ​“Oh my god,” she said.

Henderson, the photographer, was introducing his 360 video booth to Avnah Erskine and her family.

“I’m always trying to add to my business, make it stand out,” said Henderson, who got started in photography while working on his high school newspaper.

At the next table, Travis Johnson was offering guests a choice between chicken chili and plain chili. His brother Trevor owns Fantastic Foods, a food stall and catering business.

Events like these, he said, ​“are huge. You can network, open up different avenues for each other. You never know who you’re going to meet at the next booth. You might be able to come together on something.”

Across the room, Julien Garcia, general manager of Bear’s Smokehouse on James Street, was serving jonnycakes (cornmeal pancakes) to accompany the chili.

“We want to be a part of this,” said Garcia. ​“This is about hunger in the community, and we want to do our part to help the people who need it.”

For Sharwyn Pittman of Sandra’s Next Generation, the cookoff was ​“what myself and my family have been doing for years.” Not the competition part. ​“Giving back. This is what we’re about.”

Kady Ann Brown, who opened 173 Surf and Turf two years ago on Arch Street in Hamden, had another take.

“It’s great letting people know about us,” said Brown. ​“Speaking for myself, I’m always working at my own restaurant and I don’t get out a lot, so it’s great learning about other places and what they do.”

In the adjoining space, Dareesha ​“Sunshine” Hardy waxed poetic on the benefits of her Sunshine’s Paradox Beauty lip care products. A member of the Army National Guard, she said she came home from a deployment to Cuba last year to find all her belongings stolen, including all of her makeup.

“Whenever I’m feeling depression or anxiety, if I have my lip gloss and mascara, those are the things that get me through,” she said. ​“Instead of going out and buying all that stuff when all that happened, I decided to figure out how to make my own.”

She started sharing her lip-care products with friends, friends of friends, and on social media. Then it took off.

“Her lipstick is amazing,” said Tasha Williams, owner of Something Special events, who was walking by. ​“Looks good, feels good, and it hasn’t come off even after eating chili.” 

Sunshine beamed. ​“We need to build each other up as we’re climbing because it’s really difficult in business if you don’t have that support,” she said. ​“Sometimes you just need someone to say, ​‘Go do it, girl.’”

Shanell Jefferson, owner-baker of Cakes by the Pound, took an order for pound cake for Thanksgiving.

“I got serious about baking during the pandemic,” she said. She comes from a family of entrepreneurs; her sister Charese Mabrey, who was on hand, is owner of CaRisMa dance studio in West Haven.
 
​“We are here to get our name out there and support one another,” she said. ​“Someone’s having an event, we come out. We’re like a family. We look out for one another. We make each other stronger.”

For outgoing Beaver Hills Alder Jill Marks, who was sampling a piece of Jefferson’s pound cake, ​“this event means everything. I know how it is to be young and having a passion. You need people.”

Marks is the mother-in-law of Eat Up’s Bryan Burkett-Thompson. ​“I see the passion and hard work he’s putting into this,” she said. ​“This is his mission, and I want to be supportive of him every time he does anything.”

By then, Carmon was announcing the winners of the Cookoff: First place went to Sandra’s Next Generation. Jazzy’s Cabaret took second.

With a raffle and donations, the event raised over $4,000.

To Carmon’s mind, it’s no coincidence that the Cookoff took place two weeks before Thanksgiving.

“Eat Up is about feeding people,” he said later. ​“That’s what’s phenomenal about these young men. They came up with this event which feeds restaurants and businesses by bringing them together. And next Saturday they’ll literally feed the people in our community who are hungry, and that’s a beautiful thing.”