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A nip is in the evening air and bragging rights are on the line as the annual Jessamine County chili cook-off returns after a hiatus due to Covid 19. The event, a fundraiser for the Jessamine County Historical Society, is a contest to determine where the best chili cooks in Jessamine live. For an admission of $10 a person (free to children 12 and under), everyone is welcome to sample the various offerings, vote for their favorite, and then eat their fill. Beverages, deserts, and fixings are included.

Cooks from Wilmore, Keene, and Nicholasville will be pitting their recipes and culinary skills against each other to win the title for their community. Wilmore Mayor Harold Rainwater, whose chili has won several contests, challenged the mayor of Nicholasville. Pete Southerland will be out of town on the date of the cook-off, but Nicholasville city councilman Alex Carter agreed to step up. The popular Dixie Café in Keene is contributing a pot of chili from the owner’s family recipe. Various members of the historical society will be there with their entries to try to win the title of Chili Champion for their community.

The cook-off will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the new Wilmore Municipal Building at 210 South Lexington Avenue in Wilmore.

Until recently, the building was the site of the Providence School and, before that, served the community in a variety of incarnations. At noon, Mayor Rainwater will speak about its history and about some of the changes taking place in Wilmore during the last year.