Correction appended: An earlier version of this story misspelled Meena Bajracharya's name.

Last Friday, the East Quad cafeteria took on a distinctly southwestern flair, becoming the site for the Residential Dining Services Bean Chili Cook-off.

The competitors included eight dining services employees, including two students. Several contestants brought decades of chili cooking experience to the competition, and others were cooking chili for the first time in their lives.

The contestants were ranked on their chili dishes by both a panel of three judges and by popular vote. The dishes were required to be made from blends of beans grown in Michigan.

West Quad Kitchen Cleaner Meena Bajracharya, a 10-year chili veteran, took home the judges' gold with her Himalayan Spicy Chili, an exotic vegetarian blend of kidney beans, onions, green and red peppers and many spices.

Bajracharya said she brought the recipe with her from her homeland of Nepal.

Joyua Williams, a cook from Bursley Hall, took home the “crowd favorite” prize with her New Orleans Chumbo.

Another 10-year veteran of the trade, Williams said her recipe was a personal creation loaded with hamburger, Italian sausage, andouille sausage and shrimp.

LSA freshman Annemarie Friedo said Williams’s dish was one of her favorites.

"A lot of the other chili was really good,” Friedo said, “but most were too different from traditional chili to be called chili."

LSA freshman Maddie Conway, Friedo’s friend and self-proclaimed chili connoisseur, completely disagreed.

"The Himalayan didn't look like a traditional chili, but tasted like one," she said. Conway also said that she and her father have participated in many soup and chili competitions, adding validity to her sentiments.

Like many other competitions, this one wasn't without its share of underhanded tactics.

"My supervisor lied to me," said Engineering sophomore and East Quad server Mischa Veenhuysen. "I thought I was signing up to be a judge, and then all of a sudden I was asked to come up with some chili."

Veenhuysen said he got the recipe for his "South of the Diag" chili from a friend, which he said he "added a couple of things to."

"It kind of turned out as a bean dip,” he said, “but it still came out well.”

Most in attendance agreed that the chili cook-off was a welcome break from the monotony of regular cafeteria food.

"I think this really helps, it gets us out of the mundane," said Engineering sophomore Jack Linkous.

Many students expressed a desire for other similar events.

"It would be really cool if they could have a pie-making competition," Friedo said.

LSA sophomore Rose Partirich agreed, saying she would "like to see a cookie or cupcake competition.”

Residential Dining Services is having a salad competition over spring break, on Feb. 26th, in Bursley Hall.

Steve Meyers, executive chef for Dining Services, said the chili cook-off could possibly become an annual event, a popular idea among students.

"It would be really sweet if they could do this again," Conway said.