On a bright Sunday afternoon at Nelly’s Pet Resort, the air was filled with the intoxicating aroma of sweet chili and the sounds of laughter and chatter amongst both cooks and guests. Nelly’s founder Linda Richter opened the company in 2016, but it is now under new ownership as the sister company of the Animal Hospital of Milledgeville, and Nelly’s now offers a wide range of services, including boarding, daycare, and grooming.
Nelly’s Pet Resort held its inaugural chili cookoff Feb. 22, hoping to make it a yearly tradition.
The cookoff had a firm number of open spots for participants as the business asked for six to 10 cooks. The entrance fee was $15, and guests who wanted to taste the chili paid $5 to attend and be a judge for the event. All proceeds for the chili cookoff were to support the Baldwin County spay-and-neuter program.
Cookoff judges tried each chili, at least one small sample, then would place votes after trying each contestant’s chili.
Once all the votes were in, all names were deleted to leave the voters anonymous. Nelly’s did ask for testers to only take one scoop of chili, and following the competition they would receive a full bowl of their personal favorite.
The cookoff was a success with an influx of donations and a good time for the community. The first-, second-, and thirdplace winners of the event were Trish Stanfield, Rich and Terry Lalama, and Tim Latimore.
For more information about Nelly’s Pet Resort, visit nellyspetresort.com or call 478-295-1200.