August always means one thing around here: it’s time to start getting ready for the biggest day of the year.

The party people talk about all year long. The one our friends tell newcomers they have to experience. The annual excuse to gather, laugh, eat way too much chili, and spend a day together on the farm.

And this year… we’ve even added a live band.

The funny thing is none of this was ever part of the plan.

Link here to the party details and cookoff rules in English: https://mailchi.mp/lnsartisanmeats/chilicookoff2026

Enlace aquí para los detalles de la fiesta y las reglas del concurso de chili en español: https://mailchi.mp/a618f478e743/concurso-de-chili-y-fiesta-en-la-granja

Year One: A Birthday, a Farm, and a Leap of Faith

I arrived on the farm at the end of May 2012 as a visitor.

I planned to stay for just a couple of days.

Life had other plans.

Six weeks later, I realized this little farm outside Cotacachi was where I was meant to build my life. It also happened to be the year I was turning 30, and every twenty-nine-year-old deserves a proper send-off to one decade before starting the next.

Shawn happily obliged.

We served smoked chicken, homemade coleslaw, fresh lemonade… and plenty of puro (our local sugar cane moonshine).

Around fifty people showed up. Most of them I’d only recently met. Looking back now, I realize I met what was probably a good portion of the expat community in Cotacachi that day, along with many wonderful Ecuadorian friends. Some have since moved away, while others are still an important part of our lives.

What everyone remembered, though, was what a great day it had been.

Year Two – The First Chili Cook-Off

By the next year, life had changed again.

We had welcomed baby Gus into the family, and I spent most of the afternoon carrying around a newborn while trying to visit with everyone.

We also decided to give the party a theme.

The first L&S Chili Cook-Off was born.

There were no rental tents. No rows of tables. No stage.

Everything happened under a simple lean-to we’d built ourselves. We gathered whatever tables and shade we could find around the farm and made it work.

It was also the day I met one of my very best friends.

Funny how some events change your life in ways you never expect.

A Few Years Off

From 2014 through 2016, life looked a little different.

We welcomed two more babies into our family, and let’s just say… keeping tiny humans alive was enough excitement for a while.

The Chili Cook-Off took a break while our family grew.

Year Three – 2017

When we brought it back, something felt different.

We still had our trusty lean-to, but this time we rented tents and tables.

Friends volunteered to help.

The crowd was bigger than we’d ever imagined.

For the first time, it felt like this might become more than just a party.

Year Four – 2018

More people came.

More tents.

More volunteers.

This was also the first year the Andramunio brothers began helping transport guests to the farm, something they’ve continued to help us with over the years.

The event was becoming a true community effort.

Year Five – 2019

This was the year we realized we’d officially outgrown our original space.

We expanded into a much larger area of the farm.

More than ten different chili teams competed, including several cooks who would become legendary competitors over the years.

Attendance climbed past 500 people.

What had started as a birthday party was becoming one of the community’s favorite annual traditions.

2020

Like so many traditions around the world…

We pressed pause.

No explanation needed.

Year Six – 2021

Coming out of the pandemic, people were excited

It wasn’t our biggest event.

But after so much time apart, it was exactly what many of us needed—a chance to gather again.

Year Seven – 2022

This was a special one.

L&S Artisan Meats celebrated its tenth anniversary, and we decided to celebrate in style.

We raffled off half a pig.

For the first time, we cleared an entire pasture specifically for the event.

We rented the giant tents.

The Chili Cook-Off had officially become bigger than our backyard.

Years Eight, Nine, and Ten

Each year brought more people, more chili, more volunteers, more stories, and more memories.

Returning champions defended their titles.

New competitors surprised us.

Families who came once started making it an annual tradition.

Children who once needed help tasting chili are now old enough to vote for their favorites.

Watching the event grow has been one of the greatest joys of this business.

Year Eleven – 2026

And here we are.

Planning another unforgettable afternoon on the farm.

This year we’re adding something completely new—a live classic rock concert to close out the day.

We’ll have incredible chili, amazing competitors, smoked meats, local vendors, mountain views, and what we hope is another afternoon that people will be talking about long after summer is over.

When people ask why we keep doing this, the answer is simple.

It’s never really been about the chili.

It’s about community.

It’s about watching strangers become friends.

It’s about seeing families return year after year.

It’s about celebrating this incredible place we’ve called home for the last fourteen years.

What started as one birthday party somehow became one of our favorite traditions.

We’d love for you to be part of the next chapter.