Lighter side of first-responding: Which fire or police department has best chili?

More than 200 people packed into Sew Hop’d Brewing in Huntley on a recent rainy Sunday afternoon in a quest to find out which fire or police department had the best chili recipe.

The First Responder Chili Cookoff, held at the brewery April 7, also aimed to raise money for the Huntley School District 158 Education Foundation. This was the second year owner of Veterans Q Barbecue Steve Lulofs hosted.

It’s extremely important to have those positive interactions. We deal with bad days, so it’s nice to be laughing and having fun.”

—  Sgt. Kevin Keane, Huntley police officer

Lulofs plans to continue the First Responders Chili Cookoff each year. As a veteran, he said he’s a “big supporter” of local police and fire departments, all while supporting the local school district.

The returning champions, the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, turned up the heat this year and clinched the championship for the second year in a row, also winning the “people’s choice” category with Lt. Brad Avi’s recipe.

The self-described “foodie” of the fire department, he is always cooking up something at the firehouse for his colleagues. He describes his smoked brisket recipe as “classic firehouse” and said the chili was one of his favorite dishes to make at the department.

“It’s forgiving for reheating if we have to drop what we’re doing and get to a call,” he said.

The Algonquin Police Department sampled their best chili at the competition in hopes to beat their fire department rivals. The department is always changing their recipes and they never make the same chili twice, records clerk Michelle Bathauer said. The Illinois State Police remained tight-lipped on their secret chili recipe, but more importantly wanted to connect with the community in a fun way, Sgt. Aldo Schumann said.

“It puts things in perspective,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re just people and this is just the profession we chose.”

Illinois Conservation Police brought some creativity to their chili recipe by using bison, beef brisket and bacon along with numerous toppings, from Wisconsin cheese curds to Gold Fish crackers. Officer Tom Davis cooked the bison, which he gets from Gravity Farms in Pontiac. Chili eaters who don’t use any toppings he fondly calls “purists.”

“It’s good to see people face to face,” Davis said. “We want people to want to run towards us, not away from us.”

Although the Huntley Police Department had home court advantage, they weren’t able to beat the returning chili champions. Huntley police Sgt. Kevin Keane said he was happy to be with his community at the event.

“It’s extremely important to have those positive interactions,” Keane said. “We deal with bad days, so it’s nice to be laughing and having fun.”