Another
Chili Milestone Has Been Met!
Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Texas State!
On Sept. 23rd, 2006 at the city park in Jamaica
Beach, Texas; Bruce Wilkins (the husband of Cindy
Reed Wilkins) broke another record for chili cooks.
On that day, he won the ICS Texas State Championship
and joined his wife Cindy as the only married
couple to hold that title for both Chili organizations.
Cindy had won the Texas State championship title
back in August of 2006 for the CASI organization.
There are two organized groups that govern and
run chili cook-offs around the country. Those
two organizations are ICS (International Chili
Society, based in California) and CASI (Chili
Appreciation Society International, based in Texas).
Both are great organizations that raise millions
of dollars each year for charities across the
country.
Each organization has a Texas State Championship
cook-off every year with the winner of the event
crowned the best chili cook in Texas. The winner
gets to keep this title for one year, and then
he or she has to defend it again the following
year. This is the first time that a married couple
has won both titles for Texas State Champion,
for both organizations. Cindy is the current CASI
Texas State Champion and Bruce is the current
ICS Texas State Champion. Thus, the Mr. and Mrs.
Texas State Champions of the chili world.
Cindy has been receiving a lot of recognition
lately, ever since she cooked against Bobby Flay,
on his series Throwdown With Bobby Flay: The Chili
Challenge. Cindy was chosen because of her numerous
awards she has won cooking chili. Cindy is the
only person in history to have won the CASI International
Chili Championship twice and she did it back-to-back
in 1992 and 1993. She almost won it again in 2002
but lost to a tie breaker and received second
place. Otherwise she would have had three of the
39 Bronze Peppers in existence. Cindy won CASI
Texas Ladies State Championship in 2002 and Bruce
won the CASI Texas Men's State Championship in
2004. Bruce also won second place two years in
a row for the ICS Texas State Championship. This
year he got over that hurdle and grabbed the top
prize.
Cindy and Bruce meet on the chili trail 10 years
earlier, as they where competing against each
at various chili cook-offs across the country.
Bruce finally convinced Cindy to tie the knot
and they got married in 2002. Shortly after, they
started to fine tune Cindy's chili recipe and
they started selling a dry chili mix to friends
and neighbors. They call this mix Cin Chili and
it has taken off like the champions that produce
it. Cin Chili has won the Golden Pepper Award,
the Scovie Award and People's choice awards at
all the food shows they have participated in.
They say that the cream of the crop always rises
to the top. Cindy and Bruce are doing just that.
Keep an eye on this couple; you're going to hear
a lot about them in the future.
Cin Chili & Company
Contact: Bruce Wilkins
11702 Braewick
Houston, TX. 77035
713-728-1706
www.cinchili.com