Correction:

Headlines in Monday's paper should not have identified Toad Chili as a winner at the Winchester Exchange Club's chili challenge. Miller's Road Kill II won the people's choice award.

By Preston Knight -- Daily Staff Writer

STEPHENSON — Scott Wilfong was the coolest toad on the block Saturday.

Participating in the Winchester Exchange Club's Chili Challenge for the first time, Wilfong, of Winchester, wore a grin and his uniform — a red apron with a toad on it — for the day as he stirred his mix of tomatoes, onions and peppers.

"It's like Christmas in there," he said, looking inside his pot.

Toad Chili, titled for Wilfong's nickname, the story of which is long and reportedly unsuitable for print, was among 17 entries at the Frederick County Fairgrounds. For the team's leader, who said he was shamed into the contest by other family members present, there was the big unknown — how would the public take to chili that had never been made available outside of the Wilfong household?

The best way to find out is to go by first impressions. If the first person who tastes it likes it, that's usually a good omen. Wilfong was loose as the first pot of chili went to be enjoyed, or, possibly, disliked.

"Today's game day," he said.

The person responsible for making or breaking Wilfong's day would be Patricia Willauer of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., herself a rookie, attending her first chili cook-off. With Wilfong out of earshot, she took the first taste of Toad Chili.

"It's good," she said, a statement sure to make all toads happy. "It's not that spicy. It's got a good balance."

Willauer's mother, Marian, took a bite as well. Another endorsement came. The toads were victorious.

The real winner for the day, though, was the Child-Parent Center of Winchester, a private social services agency that serves the city and Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren and Clarke counties. Proceeds from the chili challenge go to the center. The goal this year was for $25,000, about $8,000 more than what was raised in 2007, said Bill Germelman, one of the event's organizers.

He knew the day was going to be a good one when he saw that all 17 entries had shown up.

"Every year, we usually lose one contestant," Germelman said. "This year, the stars are aligned."

Jessica Neff, of Stephens City, came for her fourth chili challenge as Jessy's Messy Chili. A two-time judge's champion, she has defied the odds by proving that heat and meat can win, she said. Her chili features chicken and some kick.

"I don't know how to make mild chili," Neff said.

Neither does Mike Young, a Winchester resident celebrating his 62nd birthday at the challenge. He has never entered his chili into the competition and doesn't sound bothered that he hasn't done so.

"They would have to put a warning label on it," Young said. "Mine is five-alarm. I had roommates ... they had to eat a lot of bread with it."

Cornbread goes quite well with chili at the challenge, Martha Miller has discovered. For four years, she and her husband, Wayne, have entered the contest as Miller's Road Kill II. This year, the Winchester couple brought about 300 cornbread muffins along with their chili.

They also brought their granddaughter, Kierstyn Peacoe, 12, in a cow outfit, a la the Chick-fil-A, holding a sign that read, "Eat More Road Kill."

"She normally yells [during the contest]," Mrs. Miller said. "This year she dressed up."

Sean Hilleary, of Sweet Caroline's, said the restaurant didn't need any "flash" to draw a crowd to its display. It was all about the chili, he said. For Sweet Caroline's, that focus apparently works, as it has won three times for best chili, either in the judge's vote or public competition, Hilleary said.

Winning, though, is secondary to the cause the challenge supports, he said more than once.

"We enjoy being out here," Hilleary said.

That now goes for all toads, too.

* Contact Preston Knight at pknight@nvdaily.com