Cook-Off Results {*burp*}

You guys are in trouble now! I brought my camera to work today. :-) Mostly, we were all distracted by the aromas wafting throughout Cubeville. I mean, there were people wandering around aimlessly just smelling the air and following their noses. By 9:00 am we were out-of-control crazy with hunger pangs, and watching the clocks for 11:30. I will admit the chili in our aisle was taste-tested early. :-)

But before I get to the cook-off, I have a few other things to show you. This was yesterday's calendar page, and it was so clever I thought I'd share it with you. Those cows just crack me up!

This one is for Lydia, who posted this wonderful ditty about phones yesterday. This is my honest-to-gosh desk phone at work. I does have a wall jack, and buttons instead of a dial, but it is still heavy enough to kill a feral hog. See? Some of us still live in the past.

This is an accident waiting to happen, also known as a rat's nest. Good thing the Fire Marshall wasn't around. And yes, the power strip is airborn, because the crock pot cord was too short, but when there's chili to be heated, you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

Here are 4 of the 7 chili offerings, partially obliterated by a hungry person's arm.

Here is the Corn Bread table. Mine is the round stone one with the black knife in it. No, I did not win.

This is a shot of what I call the Presentation Suck-Up. We were NOT told that presentation was part of our score, although having watched so much Food Network lo these many years, you'd think some of us would have thought about it. Obviously, at least one person did. They even colored their number! Hmph. Well, this is one high bar that has been set for future contests ... I'm just sayin'.

This signage won the Numbers Suck-Up Attempt Award (I just made that up). Our boss's boss, who was one of the judges, has a line that we have all taken to heart and say on a daily basis, "It's all about the numbers." (Internet Sales ... how are we doing ... numbers ...) So this guy decided to suck up to the boss by presenting the numbers for his chili entry. He was shot down and not allowed to put it out until after the judging, but I think it was still very clever. And he said they are real calculated nutritional information numbers. Not sure I believe him, but it was still a nice try!

This guy also had no crock pot, so he served his chili in a microwave, and he brought the microwave (actually 'borrowed' it from the break room). I should have taken a photo of the whole table - 2 crock pots, a microwave, the suck-up presentation, and 4 more crock pots - but it was like moths to the flame, and I was crowded out of the way by hungry people.

This is what the winners received. They were instructed to proudly display them outside their cubes until the next contest, at which time they will hand them off to the next set of winners. One of the coordinators picked up the spatulas ...

... and guess who made the signs. ;-) Now people who thought I was kidding when I said I have 'stuff' understand the gravity of my situation.

The winners were asked to share their recipes with the rest of the group, and one of them had already added "Current IBU Sales (Plaza) Cook-Off Champion" to her signature. She also failed to divulge her secret ingredient. Bah! (By the way, IBU = Internet Business Unit)

So that was my day today. The guy with the rat's nest of wires in his cube had some chili left, and since he could not convince me to take it home, he stowed it in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch. I'm bringing the Tums, but no corn bread.