Richmond feels the heat at VisArts’ biggest-ever Chili Throwdown

Daijah Hinmon, Staff Writer

The Visual Arts Center of Richmond held its 11th annual Chili Throwdown on Oct. 3 — bringing together art and food lovers to celebrate clay, community and chili. All proceeds from the event benefited VisArts’ operations and programs.

The event has grown since its first year, according to Abby Holocombe, director of marketing and communications for VisArts. There were 26 participating restaurants this year, the most to ever donate chili for the event.

VisArts’ clay team crafted 1,000 chili bowls for attendees to take home, according to Holocombe. What once was a backyard chili tasting has now grown into a coveted, city-wide event.

“It sells out every year, and we sold out faster this year than ever before,” Holocombe said. “So we’re happy that in our 11th year, people are more excited than ever to join us to taste test some chili and celebrate our clay community.”

Attendees were able to try the 26 chili variations and write down which one they believed to be the best, according to Holocombe. The panel of judges was manned by 12 On Your Side meteorologist Andrew Freiden, media personality Kelli Lemon and food writer Stephanie Gantz. 

The featured ceramicist was VCU alum Remy Ciuba, who contributed 150 handmade bowls to the event, according to Holocombe. Ciuba was awarded a VMFA fellowship when she was a student, and now teaches classes and private lessons at Hand/Thrown Ceramics Studio.

After taking a step back from art, Ciuba decided to contribute to the event to reintroduce herself to the scene, she said. Ciuba wants to make a career that can financially support her, so the throwdown was a good opportunity to sharpen her skills and get faster.

“I tried to lean into the things that I was already good at and then challenge myself to develop those skills further,” Ciuba said. “I would say making is a bit of a meditation.”

The point of creating functional work is for it to be used, so combining ceramics with food is an efficient concept, according to Ciuba. 

Joe’s Inn was one of the 26 restaurants participating in the Throwdown. Manager Lars Reisinger and kitchen manager John Wise teamed up to create a Bolognese sauce for a ground beef-style chili, according to Reisinger.  The pair incorporated chili powder, peppers and other classic ingredients into their dish.

Reisinger also got the opportunity to sample other chilies at the event, but was unable to complete the full suite.

“I probably had like six or seven chilies,” Reisinger said. “I couldn’t do all 26.”

The VisArts Center is a gem in the community, Reisinger said. Attendees were able to have a nice dinner and support the art center.

The judges chose Pig and Brew as their victor, and Smoky Mug was the people’s choice winner, according to the VisArts’ Instagram.

The winners received clay trophies of a proud figure with a jalapeno around its head, hand-crafted by VisArts studio manager Matt Spahr, according to a VisArts Instagram post.

Once again, the Richmond community showed up in droves to support local restaurants and artists at VisArts center annual Chili Throwdown, leaving attendees eagerly awaiting next year’s cook-off.