Here are the big winners from Saturday’s Downtown Chili Cookoff

The Wichita Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff was on Saturday, and the weather could not have been more ideal.

Organizers estimate that between 12,000 and 15,000 people trekked downtown for the chili-tasting event, which was staged on a cool but sunny fall day. My coworkers helped me put together a Dining with Denise booth, and the crowds emptied our two giant pots of green chili in record time.

Lots of top-notch chili was cooked on the spot, and judges picked a new batch of winners. The grand champion chili was made by coworkers from Pool Trends, a swimming pool and spa company at 216 N. Flora. That group also won first place in the Best Booth category and, third place in the “No Beans” chili category, and third place in the “Anything Goes” chili category.

The group had a “Hillbilly Chili” theme and were all dressed wearing mullet wigs. Their booth featured a horse tank with a pool liner — a “Hillbilly Pool.”

The restaurant winner was The Diamond Plate food truck, and the Red Hat Society — which created a show-stopping booth with a giant red hat on the top — won first place in Team Spirit and second place in Best Booth.

I have a full list of winners below.

The location was new this year: The Wagonmasters moved the event to Kennedy Plaza and Douglas in front of Century II since their usual spot at Douglas and St. Francis was unavailable because of construction at Naftzger Park and on the site of the future Spaghetti Works District.

The Wagonmasters liked their new spot even more than they thought they would, said Bill Ramsey, a spokesman for the group.

“The change in location was overwhelmingly supported by the participants, both teams and attendees,” he said. “Nothing but amazing feedback. We had so much more room to work with.”

The Naftzger Park location won’t be ready next year either, so it’s possible the event could again happen at Century II or some other location.

On a personal note, I would like to thank my head chef, pork smoker extraordinaire Travis Grover and his wife, Katie, as well as my co-workers Suzanne Perez Tobias, Rod Pocowatchit, Matt Riedl, Julie Mah, Jean Hays, Jaime Green and Dale Seiwert for serving our chili to the masses.

Also, special thanks to Uno Mas for loaning us festive table decor and to Holmes-Made Salsa for, at a moment’s notice, donating a whole bunch of her Marty’s Chile Verde when I realized I hadn’t made enough salsa verde for two big batches.

Putting a booth together for the event is a whole lot of work, and now that I’ve done it for two years in a row, I have a new appreciation for the people who donate their time and talent to make it happen.

Here’s a list of the winners:

INTERNATIONAL CHILI SOCIETY (RED CHILI)