Get Off That Soapbox - You're In My Way.....

I know that we all want to help one another when cooking chili and I for one encourage cooks to give their recipe to a newbie in hopes of helping them learn how to cook chili, place at cook offs and enjoy what they're doing while they raise money for charity. (God knows I did...his name is Tom Dozier and I apologize :)...kidding, kidding!!)  With that said, be careful who you give your recipe to.  You never know who has gotten a hold of a recipe without the owner's knowledge or permission and is passing it out to other cooks.  Rule of thumb - if you get someone's recipe from someone other than them, then you can bet it's being given out behind that person's back. 

This pisses me off more than I can handle.  It just further cements the opinion of so many that chili cooks are only out for themselves when that is not the case.  It only takes a few bad apples (in this case one from my area) to give the rest of us a bad reputation. And it's not even done out of stupidity - it's done out of spite and the person doing it is doing it to get back at people they think have "wronged" them.  It's a bunch of BS. 

There are recipes on the CASI website, ICS website and my Mild Bill's website.  Good, legitimate recipes that any new or experienced chili cook can use to get qualified.  They can also tweak it to their tastes.  Nothing bothers me more than sneaky people trying to outdo someone doing well by either getting ahold of their recipe on the sly - or passing out someone's recipe as a way to try and keep them from continuing to place.  I hope that the competition part of what we do isn't turning people into win at all cost, cut throat cooks who don't care how they get where they've gotten....just as long as they get there.  I see people's recipes on a regular basis.  Someone will send me their recipe and ask me to help them, or to see if it needs to be tweaked.  I would NEVER betray that kind of confidence.  Not because I own a spice business and it would just be beyond ignorant for me to do something so stupid, but because I value the trust people place in me and I'd never, ever want someone to think that I'd do something so underhanded and wrong.  Just like I don't ever, ever share what people order.  That's just WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!  Most of the time I couldn't tell you what had been ordered to begin with.  I do have a verifiable shitty memory!

Don't get me wrong - I love a good point hog :)  And I love those that get their points, stop cooking and help the charities in other ways.  What I can't stand is a sneaky, spiteful person trying to undermine others by handing out recipes that they have no business sharing.  There are so many wonderful, honest and good hearted chili cooks out there willing to share their recipe and help a fellow chili cook.  All this particular individual is doing is making the ones happy to share their recipe think again.  It makes you wonder who all you're really helping!

Keep it real and real spicy!!

K
Okay....I feel better now.  At least for today.