Chili inspires passion in people.

"No food item has caused more arguments than chili, so a cook-off becomes the perfect thing to do," says Alan Dean, a former executive director of the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) and head honcho for the 45th Texas State Men's Championship in Johnson City.

Even the state legislature has gotten involved with chili, declaring it the official State Dish of Texas.

Texans are so passionate, you can probably find a chili cook-off to attend this very weekend. They are everywhere. And the goal of every competitive cook is to stir up a bowl of red in one of the most desolate places in the state: Terlingua. That's where the champion is crowned and that's where it all began.

Back in 1967, feuding newspaper columnists Frank X. Tolbert of Dallas and H. Allen Smith of New York argued in print over which state produced the best chili, deciding on a cook-off between Wick Fowler, representing Texas, and Smith. The desolate site was chosen by race-car driver Carroll Shelby since he was trying to promote land for sale nearby. And Tolbert had penned "A Bowl of Red," which became the chili Bible.

The match turned out to be a tie, of course, since the whole thing was a put-on from the beginning. But thanks to Shelby's popularity and influence, the event was attended by many hundreds of people. Written reports caught the fancy of so many folks that a rematch was set for 1968. It was also a tie. But in 1969, competition got serious. The first undisputed chili champ was Arizonan C.V. Wood, the man who brought London Bridge to Lake Hasavu.

The next year, a Texas state chili championship sprang up in San Marcos.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

"Frank Tolbert's idea of chili cook-offs was to preserve a part of Texas culture like the old trail drives, people coming together for good times. Folklore," says Kathleen Tolbert Ryan, Frank's daughter who now runs Tolbert's Restaurant in Grapevine and heads up the Original Terlingua International Championship Chili Cook-off.

She loves being part of that legacy, even after so many years.

"So many people still remember my dad after all these years," she says. "I've made so many friends. If I start to complain, I just remember how much fun it is."

That first bunch of chiliheads came to call itself Chili Appreciation Society International. Later they split into three separate groups—one group keeping the CASI name, one group loyal to Tolbert, and one group of mostly Californians that became the International Chili Society. (ICS information is ignored here since the ICS championship is not held in Texas.)

The Tolbert Original Chili Championship and CASI's Terlingua International Chili Championship (TICC) are held the first Saturday in November each year in Terlingua. TICC at Rancho de CASI, just west of the Ghost Town on the north side of FM 170 while Tolbert is behind the Terlingua Store on the south side of FM 170, just east of the Ghost Town.

To say the chili cookoffs are popular is a gross understatement. Terlingua, a town with a population of a few dusty souls, inflates into thousands just for this weekend. The Terlingua Ghost Town is in one of the most remote locations of Big Bend, an eight-hour drive from the heart of the Hill Country, and not on the way to anywhere. You have to mean to go there.

That's where the championships are held, but you don't have to go that far to sample some chili fare. As noted, on virtually every weekend, you can find a chili cookoff being held somewhere and to compete all you have to do is sign up and pay your entry fee and obey the rules. To get to Terlingua, however, cooks have to qualify at one of these other events.

It's a complicated system but, basically, if you win a state, regional or national championship you're in. You also qualify by acquiring points based on cookoffs around the states. Chili is judged based on aroma, consistency, red color, taste, and aftertaste.

Chili must be prepared on site and can have no fillers, such as beans, macaroni, or rice among other items.

Yes, beans are forbidden. Texans have been known to get violent over beans in their chili, something New Yorker Smith was actually proud of. Beans, chiliheads contend, make the dish stew, not chili.

"Out there in Terlingua, everybody's had to qualify so all the chili is good, so winning becomes a lot of luck," says Tom Dozier of Irving, the 2010 TICC champ. "I always liked to cook. I won a cook-off and that started me off. It's like golf. Everybody plays, but not everyone gets to play at a major. I like playing in the majors. I cook what I can cook best—it's never as bad as you think, but you are also not as good as you think."

Bob and Doris Coats, also of Irving, are the only husband and wife to have won Terlingua individually—Doris in 1991, Bob in 1999.

"We cooked the same recipe in 1991 and 1999 but changed up the spices. We've made many friends all over the state and all over the world," Bob explains. "If you cook chili you never need to talk to a psychologist."

Just why are chili cookoffs so popular? "People are curious. It seems like a family reunion and a bonding of people who have something in common," Bob says.

That echoes a sentiment from Kathleen: "It does involve chili, but our cookoff is like a family reunion."

Yes, those attending cookoffs aren't that stereotype of young crazies looking for an excuse to guzzle beer and whiskey. They are mostly middle-age families who pack up their chili pots into a camper and travel thousands of miles every year mainly to hang out with other chili-aficionados. They swap yarns, meet friends, tell lies, and relax.

Jason Goains of Ogelsby, is the reigning TICC champ and his wife Karen won the Texas Open cook-off. He got hooked because everyone he met at a ladies' cook-off was so friendly.

"It's popular and it's a fun hobby and you get to travel all over and meet hundreds of new friends," Jason says. "Everything about a cook-off is good. It's a great feeling when they call your number and you're world champion. And every chili cook is friendly, whether it's CASI, ICS or Tolbert."

According to Kris Hudspeth, twice a junior champ and currently public relations director for CASI, chili cooks are some of the best people in the world, and numerous lifelong friendships have been formed by cooking a pot of chili.

"The friendships and memories are what has kept me cooking chili while raising a young family," he says. "I think anyone that comes out to a cookoff is drawn first to the interest in what is competition chili and what does it taste like, and are drawn back over and over again because of the fun they have."

For Glenda Vrba of Garland forming those friendships is the key. "I love all the places we get to go and meeting new people. It's not a cheap hobby with all the traveling, but it beats sitting at home and vegetating."

Her friend Bill Lester adds that another thing that attracts cooks is that all the money raised is for charities, "especially small ones who can use the money and get it directly like volunteer fire departments."

As Kathleen points out, much of their charity money goes to help fight ALS (Lou Gehrig) Disease, and the Tolbert cook-off has donated to Telingua area paramedics, among others.

And CASI scholarships have now expanded to include trade schools in addition to academic ones.

"What started as a simple competition to determine bragging rights has grown to follow the motto of 'chili, charity, and fun,'" Kris points out.

If you go down a list of Terlingua winners from each faction, very few non-Texans have won, which is fitting considering chili as we belch it today began in the Lone Star State. The earliest mention of chili is in the 1800s, when cowboys would carry a pemmican-like substance with them on the trail. But its popularity soared in the 1890s after the advent of powdered peppers by the famed chili queens of San Antonio who would ply their chili from pushcarts along city streets.

To cook chili today you start with meat, add in any or all members of the capsicum pepper family, add in other flavorings like oregano, salt or pepper, and maybe a little masa. Or just pick up a mix like Wick Fowler's 2 Alarm Chili Mix or Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Brand Chili Kit and make your own.

If you don't want to go to all that trouble, stop by Tolbert's Restaurant for an original bowl of red.

And to taste some of the really great chili, don't miss the 49th annual championships in Terlingua on November 5, 6, and 7, 2015.

For More Information: Chili Appreciation Society International, www.casichili.net. Tolbert, www.abowlofred.com. Texas State Men's Championship, www.texasmenschili.org. Texas State Women's Championship, www.texasladiesstate.com.