Had Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz attended last Saturday's Kiwanis Chili Cookoff, she might have said "Toto, ya'll ain't in Texas no more." Traditional Texas chili purists were in the minority amongst the formidable cadre of chili-crushing chefs who cooked up a storm to create cash flow for Kiwanis charities.

If there is such a thing as nouvelle chili, one could find a plethora of it at this contest. The traditional combination of beef, onions, fresh and dried chiles and water took on almost psychedelic features with concoctions that contained such heretical ingredients as celery, corn, carrots, hot links, merlot, tequila, 35-year-old Thai chiles, chorizo, pork, bison, chocolate, coffee, smoked paprika, maple syrup, lamb and (gasp!) mushrooms. Mushrooms? In chili? Puh-leez. Texas chili king Frank Tolbert must be gazing down from heaven and drawling, "Lawd, have mercy."

Heresy aside, the mushroom chili, a concoction from a crew called the Red Hot

Chili Preppers, was utterly magnificent, and is the first winner of the Alameda Epicure's Zorch award. Zorch — a term coined by angst-ridden Central Valley truck-stop fry-cooks to describe what chili becomes after a day's worth of grill detritus and various and sundry bits and scraps of stuff winds up in it, often with fantastic results — pretty much denotes the Preppers' freestyle brew. Congratulations to them.

And now to the traditional Kiwanis winners:

Judge's Choice first place: Alameda Education Foundation

Judge's Choice second place: Alameda Food Bank

Judge's Choice third place: Alameda Firefighters

People's Choice first place: Alameda Education Foundation

People's Choice second place: Girl's Power

People's Choice third place: Alameda Firefighters

Alameda Epicure's Winners:

First place: Griot — A chili masterpiece from Chef David Bryant.

Second place: Team Growing Youth APC — An absolutely delicious brew made from organically grown Alameda Point veggies.

Third place: Lucky's Bay Farm Chilies — Jalapeños grown on Bay Farm? Why not!

Congratulations to the Lucianos for making a superb, complex, nuanced chili.

Zorch Award: Red Hot Chili Preppers — Oakland Tribune scribes Lucinda Ryan, Angela Hill and crew set this Kiwanis chili confab on its ears with their madcap stew.

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