Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 10, 1994 TAG: 9405100113
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: EXTRA1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Kathleen Wilson
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
His secret?
``I never used any beef unless it was from cows who'd been raised on Navy beans,'' he said told me somewhat slyly Friday night.
Kowalchik is one of those guys who tell you a lot of things with a very straight face, then leave you to sift through what's real and what's not.
Like, ``My chili spices have actually flown on the space shuttle.''
Yeah, right. Right?
Uh, well, actually, they have.
Kowalchik met astronaut Bill Reedy when they both served on the USS Coral Sea, one of the two aircraft carriers that carried out the United States' mission to bomb Libya back in 1986.
When Reedy went up on the space shuttle Discovery, he took along Kowalchik's top-secret chili herbs and spices.
``All's fair in love and war and chili cookoffs,'' figured Kowalchik, who renamed his concoction ``Out of This World Chili.''
Before the spices went cosmic - taking their chili to new heights -, Kowalchik's No Dirtbags Allowed Chili Team called their chili ``Out of Harm's Way.''
Kowalchik was one of the record 69 chili cooks registered for the 15th Virginia State Championship Chili Cookoff. Valley Distributing, Coors Light and the Virginia Friends of Chili got together to welcome the chili virtuosos, judges and guests to Roanoke at a reception held at the Holiday Inn Civic Center.
Buddy's of Salem provided the eats. Barbecue sandwiches.
Mary Beth Hurley organizes this annual get-together, as well as the chili cookoff.
``Just call me the lunatic organizer,'' said the woman with the thickest of Long Island accents.
The cooks come from all over - Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Ohio - and credit Roanoke as being unique in its warm hospitality. These vagabond chili engineers travel from state to state hoping to qualify for the big world championships, held in Reno, Nev., each year.
``But only Roanoke throws us a party the night before,'' said Mark Pheister of Columbus, Ohio. ``It's great to get to socialize with the other cooks, because we're so busy during cookoff we don't get much chance to chat.''
He's particularly fond of Roanoke, too, for how enthusiastically the city supports the event, and seems to enjoy his Pheister's Live Wire and Pheister's Phire chili.
Mark married his wife, Marci, last year on the main stage before the world cookoff in Reno. They guess there were about 10,000 who witnessed the ceremony.
``We knew if we got married there, there'd be lots of friends,'' said Mark.
Popcorn mogul Orville Redenbacher and Jeannie Cooper of ``The Young and the Restless'' stood up for the couple.
``It was a hoot,'' recalled Marci. ``We had our own witnesses, but [Redenbacher and Cooper] couldn't have been nicer.''
The Pheisters get a big kick out of the Roanoke Valley Shag Club.
``The chili's just a side thing for them,'' said Pheister.
The Shag Club hauls out a dance floor, a DJ and dances the afternoon away.
Norman Smith and Ralph Hart, a couple of shaggin' guys in the club, told me Sandra Saunders is in charge of the chili cookoff. Their entry is Sweet Virginia Breeze chili.
Last year the club won an award for best presentation.
|n n| 'Tis the season...for doing career fairs.
At least it has been for me.
Last month Clifton Forge Middle School invited me and some 25 other professionals to give the students some insight into what we do for a living.
This was a really tough room to work.
I was positioned right next to Bev's Beauty Boutique. Bev was dry styling and French braiding hair for free.
A florist was handing out corsages.
You could climb into the cab of a big old truck out in the parking lot.
A disc jockey was even broadcasting live from the school.
Virginia state trooper Wayne Isaac had a mighty impressive spread of weapons - like ice picks and switch blades and guns - and drug paraphernalia confiscated from real criminals.
The kids really went for this stuff.
Me?
I had Roanoke Times & World-News pencils.
``Hey, I like this newspaper!'' said Robert Nicely, 13.
At last! Someone who wanted to be a reporter!
``No, I meant I liked THIS newspaper,'' he said, pointing to a sports headline. ``The Braves won!''
Delegate Creigh Deeds of Warm Springs, who was there representing the legal profession, wanted to shake my hand.
``You're Miss Parking Ticket, aren't you?'' he asked.
The students clamored for his autograph.
``Promise to call me if you're ever in a an accident,'' Deeds joked as he handed out his autographed business cards.
by CNB