Downtown Bedford Inc. holds annual Chili & Soup Cookoff

BEDFORD, Pa. (WTAJ) – Cold weather didn’t stop people from checking out the Downtown Bedford Inc. Chili and Soup Cookoff on Saturday.

Community Businesses and restaurants competed with one another for multiple titles, including most creative and best flavor. This is the tenth time the cookoff was held and 16 different restaurants and organizations participated, making it the largest year for the event so far.

“We have a lot of participants already today. They’re braving the cold weather. It’s the right type of food for this kind of weather,” Matt Randall, a member of Downtown Bedford Inc., said. “Everyone is coming out and having a good time. We’ve had a lot of people already filtering through and there are still sales going on.”

Randall also said that in the four years he’s been involved with the cookoff, he has seen it grow every year.

Visitors to the event had an opportunity to cast their ballot for their favorite entry. These are the People’s Picks Awards:

• Most Creative Chili – Golden Eagle Inn’s  G.O.A.T. Chili
• Best Flavor Chili – Horn O Plenty’s Street Corn Chili
• Best Flavor Soup – LIFeSTYLE’s Tuscan Kale Soup
• Most Creative Soup – Olde Bedford Brewing Company’s Swimming Upstream Smoked Salmon Chowder

Golden Eagle Inn’s G.O.A.T. Chili also received the Judge’s Choice Chili award, and LIFeSTYLE’s Tuscan Kale Soup received the Judge’s Choice Soup award.