From left: Mario de Negri, Al Richards and Ryan Ratushniak, winners of RRC's inaugural Chili Cup.

Staff and faculty at Red River College found a novel way to beat the winter blues last week, by engaging in some five-alarm fun at the College's first-ever Chili Cup.

The cook-off, held Nov. 16th at RRC's Notre Dame Campus, saw 13 teams putting their culinary skills to the test. Upwards of 150 students and staff members took part in the "tasting" component of the event, which helped to raise nearly $400 for RRC's Students' Association Food Bank.

The event boasted two award categories: the President's Choice Award (determined by Stephanie Forsyth, Cathy Rushton and John Reimers), and the Chili Cup Award (determined by the tasters).

The competition was close, but in the end, the following teams emerged victorious:

Chili Cup (First Place): Rebels Burning Fire Chili — Ryan Ratushniak, Mario de Negri, Al Richards and Dan Gilbert. The Rebels' chili wowed the tasters with its unique flavour and surprising undercurrent of cinnamon. It'll be served up in the voyageur Dining Room on Thu., Nov. 25th — aka "A Chili Day in November."

Chili Cup (Second Place): Tammy's Revenge — Tammy Kowerko

Chili Cup (Third Place): Piementas de Chili Caliente — Garry Giesbrecht

President's Choice: 33 Miners Trapped in Chili — Colin Fast

Congratulations also go out to staff and students at RRC's Winkler Campus, who also participated in the event. With six entries, the Winkler competition was similarly fierce, but the aptly named El Scorcho dish (courtesy of Shane Dubyk) eventually took the top prize.