Every year, I host a chili cook-off party at my house. I do it so that I can combine two of my favorite things:

• Visiting with friends 
• Eating good food ( in this case chili).

 We usually have about 30-40 people show up for the party. With that number of people it takes some coordination for everyone to have fun, especially the hosts

Here are some tips to have a great chili  cook-off party.

• Schedule the event well in advance. I usually schedule mine at least 2 months in advance. Scheduling early will increase your events attendance.
• Use an online invitation service like evite.com to track the attendees.  This will easily show who’s coming and who’s not.
• For hosting a chili cook-off a big long table is required for the crock-pots. If you don’t have a table, there are party rental stores that will have long tables.
• Be sure to have plenty of power strips for plugging in crockpots. Careful not to overload any electrical circuits.
• Ladle’s, bowls and spoons are of course important for serving and eating chili.
• I usually supply the beverages. Soda, beer, kid’s drinks and water.  Remember the ice and cooler.
• If the chili’s are being judged then each chili will need to be labeled. Paper, pens, and a ballet box will be needed for judging.

It’s all basic stuff but these few tips done ahead of time will produce a stress free chili cook-off. Have fun.