The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

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October 11, 2009

UPDATE: Chili cook-off nets VFD $1,200

By Patrick Cooley

SHARPSVILLE — Chili lovers and cooks from all over the Shenango Valley descended on Sharpsville High School on Saturday for a cook-off held by local residents to support the Sharpsville Volunteer Fire Department.

The event was organized by four families who have been helped by the department in some way, and also included a Chinese auction and a bake sale.

“We raised $1,200,” said Marie Popatak, one of the organizers. “That’s not bad for our first year.”

Everyone who came to the cook-off was given two tickets, one to vote for their favorite chili cooked by an adult, and another to vote for their favorite chili cooked by a child.

John Wolfe, an eighth-grader at Sharpsville Middle School, won the children’s cook-off with a concoction he called “Red Hot Wolfe.”

“I saw a flier for (the cook-off) on the back of the middle school lunch menu,” John said. “I decided to sign up.

“It feels great to win; it takes a lot of the pressure off,” he said.

Roberta Biros of Delaware Township said that people kept coming back for seconds of the chili she cooked for the event. Participants liked her chili so much they voted it the winner of the adult cook-off.

“I saw a write-up in The Herald,” Mrs. Biros said. “It seemed like a good way to meet the people of Sharpsville.”

She said the men seemed to like her chili a little bit more than the women.

“The guys are a little bit better with hot chili,” Mrs. Biros said.

When John Libonati of the McGonigle Ambulance Service was asked who cooked the chili his group entered, he said, “If it wins, it was me, if it doesn’t it was Sharon Benninghoff.” (Note: Ms. Benninghoff was the real cook)

McGonigle called its chili “heart palpitating chili,” referring to the effect it might have on someone if they were unprepared for how hot it was.

McGonigle ended up placing third in the adult cook-off.

Placing a very close second in the children’s cook-off was Sharpsville seventh-grader Sean Williams, with his “piping hot chili,” a recipe he said he got from his dad.

“We’ve been feeding him chili ever since he was this high,” said Ross Williams, Sean’s father, putting his hand just a few feet off the ground.

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