The 2015 Hashbrown Chili Cook-Off, now in its fifth year, will bring a dozen unique cultural organizations to Spudnik Press Cooperative for an evening of food, games, celebration, and healthy competition. On Saturday, February 28, each of these organizations will moonlight as culinary artists and provide chili tastes to Hashbrown guests. As the event approaches, we profile each contributing organization, asking zany questions to help our supporters better know each chef.
Today we introduce CAKE, 2014 Hashbrown Champion. CAKE returns to the competition with full intentions to again take home the Golden Ladle!
Spudnik Press Cooperative (SPC): What is CAKE?
Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE): CAKE is a weekend long celebration of independent comics inspired by Chicago’s abundant past and present of talented cartoonists, featuring comics for sale, discussion, exhibition, and a growing number of services for emerging comic artists, including workshops and a microgrant.
SPC: What are three food-related adjectives you would use to describe your organization?
CAKE: Zesty, fresh, and more than a little cheesy
SPC: In what ways does your chili embody your organization?
CAKE: Like the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, our chili scrappy and cooked low and slow. Chock full of diverse flavors and textures, it is at once comforting and familiar, with a dash of the wild and unexpected.
SPC: What is your favorite place in the city to enjoy a hot bowl of soup?
CAKE: Anywhere we can enjoy a hot bowl of soup while reading a comic is tops in our book!
SPC: If you could invite anyone, past or present, to chat over a bowl of chili, who would you choose?
CAKE: Cartoonist Lynda Barry! She tells great stories, whether in comics or in person.
SPC: Do you have words of warning for fellow contestants?
CAKE: ANCHO gonna be sorry you tried to beat our chili? Mess with our chili and you’ve got a real POBLANO on your hands. I mean CAYENE you believe such hubris?
SPC: This is your third year competing in the Hashbrown. What keeps you coming back?
CAKE: To defend our title and take home the Golden Squeegee two years in a row!