Location
The Chili Cook-Off is located in the grassy triangle at the foot of Newport Avenue just north of the festival’s Main Stage.
Tasting Information
Saturday, June 28, 2025!
Chili Cook-Off Tasting and Master Tickets Can Only Be Purchased Online and at the Booth in Veterans Plaza (Cash Only).
Pre-Paid Master Tickets MUST be picked up by noon at WILL CALL at the ticket booth located in Veterans Plaza.
Is eating (rather than cooking) delicious chili more your speed? Put your tastebuds to the test and cast your vote alongside the judges!
Featuring tasting booths in amateur and restaurant divisions, the Chili Cook-Off tastings begin at 11 am and end when contestants run out of samples, around 1:30 pm. If you want to try every recipe and vote for the best, you can purchase a Master Ticket for $25. All Sales Final. No refunds are available.
Chili Cook-Off Contestants Sign-Up Here!
The famous chili cook-off by the sea!
Amateur & Restaurant Division
Compete for the bragging rights to the People’s Choice Award for the Best & Hottest Chili!
Awards will be presented on the Main Stage in the OB Pier parking lot between 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm.
Proceeds from the Chili Cook-Off benefit the OB Clean and Safe program.
The Chili Cook-Off competition is held in the grassy area between Newport Avenue and the Pacific. Show off your chili cooking chops by competing for great prizes... not to mention the satisfaction of winning!
Chili Cookers:
Enter to win a spot in the Ocean Beach Hall of Fame by submitting your amazing chili recipe in the 45th annual Chili Cook-off! Each chili entry will be judged by prominent members of our community as well as by thousands of San Diegans in a “people’s choice” award. Winners will receive up to $450 in prize money, an award plaque, and be announced on our main stage as well as publicized on social media, online, and through a number of print publications.
There will be two categories; an amateur and a restaurant category. The entry fee is only $35 per team, so please consider submitting an application to enter. Again this year, amateur contestants will receive a $200 stipend after the event!
Judging
Chili judging will be based on ICS guidelines for:
- Consistency
- Taste – like chili
- Color – looks like chili
- Smell – good like chili
- Meat (if used) – tender
Prizes and Awards
*AMATEUR DIVISION*
Judges’ Awards
1st Place $400
2nd Place $250
People’s Choice
1st Place $450
2nd Place $300
3rd Place $200
SPECIAL AWARDS
OB Spirit Award - $150
*RESTAURANT DIVISION*
Judges’ Awards
1st Place Plaque + bragging rights
2nd Place Plaque + bragging rights
People’s Choice Restaurant Division
1st Place Award Plaque + bragging rights
A brief history of the OB Chili Cook-Off Festival
In 1984, Ocean Beach had its first Chili Cook-off Festival with Mike Akey, the current board of directors member of the OB MainStreet Association, as its founder. Back in the 1970s, Mike and his father, Angie Scaramuzzo, were chili enthusiasts and often traveled to chili cook-offs in the likes of Las Vegas, Balboa Island, Cabo San Lucas, and Guadalajara, to mention a few. Mike’s dad once went to the world competition in Rosemond, California (a ghost town), to compete with his “Scaramuch Chili.” Angie also founded the Lake Havasu City Chili Cook-Off, which is still being done today.
Mike considered starting a cook-off in OB and decided to do so in 1984. The International Chili Society (ICS) sanctioned the chili cook-offs for the first three years. The winner was eligible to go to the State Cook-Off, which could have led to the National Cook-Off. In 1987, Akey and his committee decided to change to an Amateur Cook-Off, though they still used the basics from the ICS for judging.
The Cook-Off also used to have a Shoot and Holler Contest—a shot of tequila and then a shout in the microphone. The loudest person got the award. "We also enjoyed the Mr. Hot Sauce and Miss Chili Pepper Contest during the same time period. We eventually had to stop that," said Mike. It got a little too risqué and was developing into a bikini contest."
In the early days, hay bales lined part of the 4900 block of Newport Avenue to provide seating for the Chili Cook-Off. Eventually, the OB Chili Cook-Off moved to the OB Pier parking lot, but the blacktop was just too hot. The move to Veterans Plaza on the grass filled the bill and has been the site for our Cook-Off ever since, with over three times the number of contestants!
Thanks to Mike Akey and his dad for founding the OB Chili Cook-Off so we can all enjoy it again this year.
Partial List of Winners and Awards from the Last Several Years
