Chili and pies make the grade in contest

By JoEllen Black/Richmond News

Jean Stonner had a good feeling when she was rolling out her pie crust the night before a pie-baking contest. She thought she might have a winner.

Stonner, of Camden, didn’t get top honors, but her pecan pie won second and her Amazing Coconut Pie received third among vote-getters at the Chili Appreciation Society International’s (CASI) chili cook-off and pie contest Saturday at Richmond Shrine Club. Darlene Kallenberger of Richmond received first among 15 entries for her German chocolate cream pie.

Pie-tasting was equally as popular as chili-tasting among the crowd, which paid $5 for pie and $3 for tasting 15 types of chili made that morning.

“Yes, I think there’s a lot more people tasting this year,” said Jerri Dowdy of Kansas City, secretary/treasurer of Sho-Me Pod, Missouri local chapter of CASI. “That’s what makes it fun for us.”