Texas food expert John Raven, Ph.B has written an excellent five-part series on the history of chili cook-offs. It’s required reading for any type of chili fan:
Part One: In the Beginning
Part Two: Chili Competition Erupts in Terlingua
Part Three: The Sixties; Terlingua Cook-Off Grows
Part Four: Upheavals, Female Competitors and a Parting of the Ways
Part Five: The Chili World Split in Two
The History of Chili Cook-Offs