MSUM deans face off with their ladles in annual chili competition

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) — Chili, chili, and more chili. These chilis aren’t your typical chili from a can, but a recipe from home.

“It’s the taste of nature. It’s all vegetables, it’s all plant-based, then it’s just – I think tasty,” said Lee Vigilant, Interim Dean of the College of Education and Human Services
“It’s really sweet with the sweet potatoes there, it brings a really good depth of flavor with the beans as well,” said Tom Reburn, Dean of Admissions at Minnesota State Moorhead
“I wanted to add something that kind of fit with the culture here and added maple syrup into it,” said Peter Sherman, Dean of Business Analytics and Communications

There were seven varieties of chilis to taste, with fitting names for each. Groups of students and staff came out to take a bite. Chili’s ranged from creamy-based to plant-based, and more.

“I’ve cooked this at home for probably at least ten years. Variations of it for my family, but it’s my first time bringing it out to a competition,” said Reburn.
“I’m a pure vegetarian, I’m a vegan. And I’ve been a vegan now for twenty-three years. So, I just like to eat cruelty-free, and I like to keep it simple,” said Vigilant.
“Based on my feedback, I’ve been doing a really, really spicy and I tried to make the entire region’s palate adjust to mine and that didn’t work,” said Sherman.

While this was a competition between the colleges, the deans say this was a fun opportunity for the community. Especially during MSUM’s homecoming week.

“When you look around, it’s about the community going on. A lot of conversations taking place, fun music, and live performances from our great music students. And so this is just an excuse to get people together and celebrate our Dragon Pride during homecoming week,” said Reburn.

And this year’s winner is athletics director Chad Markuson. Markuson’s chili was a cream cheese chicken chili recipe.

For more homecoming events coming up, you can visit here.