Contestant Ben Maffei serves a helping of chili at the Helltown Taproom Butler chili cook-off event on Jan. 26. Sol McCormick/Butler Eagle

PENN TWP — Seven contestants presented their best crock pot of chili to attendees of a charity cook-off at the Helltown Taproom in Nixon on Sunday, Jan. 26.

The event began at 1 p.m., and all chili entered in the contest needed to be ready to serve by 1:30 p.m.

The cost was $10 for contestants to enter their chili, and $5 for attendees to taste. Proceeds went to the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Attendees who paid for a wristband were granted access to taste, and vote on, the chili entries. Voters were given a ticket to mark with their preferred contestant.

The three entrants with the most votes received $25, $50 and $100 gift cards to Helltown respectively.

Ben Maffei, one of the contestants, started competing using his lifelong personal chili recipe. So far, he’s competed in five total cook-offs and won three.

“I don’t make chili a lot at home,” Maffei said. “All my buddies told me I have the best chill, so when I find contests, I enter them.”

Maffei found his chili recipe by pure accident “around 20 years ago” at a Steelers tailgate party. He said he had only made chili from a recipe up to then, but decided to experiment on his own.

Maffei’s recipe specifically focuses on a sweeter and smokier flavor, with smoked meats serving as a central ingredient. However, smoking the meats also requires a large time commitment.

“There’s probably 18 hours put into it all. It takes a lot of time and effort, but I enjoy it,” Maffei said.

The event was originally conceived from a customer’s suggestion, and taproom manager Vanessa Zanoli just knew that it made sense for the business.

“All my life, from high school to now, I’ve done charity work,” Zanoli said. “It’s always been ingrained in me, so I’m glad to bring that here to help the community and give back.”

Zanoli said that it is the goal of Helltown to do more events that help the community in the same way the cook-off helped firefighters.

“There’s a ‘dip-off’ we do at other locations,” Zanoli said. “I think we will definitely look into bringing that here in the future.”

Members of Penn Township VFD also attended the event and even brought their own chili. The firefighters brought along their trucks and some equipment to educate children.

“It’s nice to have support from the community,” Penn Twp. chief John Weston said. “It’s always a good thing to see.”