A contest with some spice to it

CLOVIS - Far from a starter, chips and salsa took center stage Friday night during the annual contest at the Curry County Fair.

Made with a base of core ingredients - tomato, onion, garlic, salt and peppers - 21 entries competed at the fairgrounds' indoor pavilion for cash prizes and coveted salsa chef aprons from the event sponsor of seven years, Leal's Mexican Restaurant.

"Everybody has their own style of salsa," said event announcer Jeff Lynn. "Sometimes, as soon as you take a bite you're running."

Anyone in need of milk might avail themselves of fresh dairy from the cows around the corner, Lynn joked.

Among the entries was a strong family presence, in some cases with parents, children and siblings in stiff competition and in other instances with participants invoking their family history with a salsa recipe.

Jack Brittain, 42, of Clovis, brought some of both. He said he's been making his own salsa for about three decades, inspired as a child by his grandfather's handiwork.

Growing up in Amarillo, Brittain never had the chance to get down those ingredients precisely, but he remembers overwhelmingly that his grandfather's recipe was "hot." And hot is what is he brought to the table Friday in a salsa made with the Scorpion Pepper, which he says he is spicier than the notorious Ghost Pepper in terms of its Scoville units.

Brittain's wife Krystal favors a green chile flavor, whereas his daughter Leya Brittain entered a "medium-heat" salsa made with habanero. His son Kaleb Hardin favored a salsa mild enough to drink from the bowl.

Richard Hudson entered his own family's recipe, and his daughters each entered some striking variations thereon. Bryleigh Hudson, 13, entered an avocado-dominant salsa whereas her sister Jenice Hudson, 16, composed a "sneaky" mango-habanero salsa that "hits you at the end" with its heat.

Melrose's Vicky Smith, who finished second in the contest, said her "dad always made salsa, always had a garden" in San Jon, and she tried this year to emulate his style.

Third-place finisher Janea Lawson, a salsa champion of the past two years, said she uses all homegrown ingredients with her husband David assisting in keeping the garden. She said her salsa is so popular with her coworkers and friends that she makes it in two-gallon batches and they never last long. The ingredients include jalapeno, serrano and bell peppers.

First-place and the recipient of $100 and a custom apron entered Friday was middle-schooler Adeline Carlyle, who entered with what was only her second attempt at making salsa.

Adeline, 13, starting eighth grade at Yucca Middle School, made her salsa with avocado, different-colored tomatoes and "fresh jalapenos from grandma's garden."

She said she was "really surprised" that the judges favored her concoction. Her little sister Amelie, 9, also competed with a salsa of sauteed corn. A yet-younger sister, 7-year old Alaira, was in tears after the contest results were announced but that may just as likely have been a reaction to tasting a Scorpion pepper.

All of the competing salsa chefs Friday can take some pride in knowing it was a tight contest. The salsas were scored and averaged by five judges across three categories - taste, texture, and appearance - and event coordinator Melanie Ratliff said the third and first place scores came out to 23.6 and 24.6, respectively.

Ratliff said "there's never been a bad salsa" in the seven years of contests with about 20 entries annually.

"I think chips and salsa, in this part of the world, is its own food group," she told The News.

That's no understatement. Another competitor, Marshall Middle School coach and PE teacher Blake Hicks, put a lot of care into his salsa because it basically is a food group for him. He combined four kinds of tomatoes and three kinds of green chile with poblano, jalapeno and habanero pepper and slow-roasted everything at home.

"I'm a picky eater," he explained. "So that's one of the ways I get most of my veggies."