Chili Adds Spice to Applefest Menu

Many who visit St. John’s Applefest wouldn’t think about leaving the popular festival without a taste of homemade apple pie. Others wouldn’t consider even having a piece of pie until they first finished off a bowl of another festival food favorite: Padre’s Chili.

Father David Harvey’s chili has been a part of the Applefest menu for years. Shortly after joining the Fenton parish in 1979, he decided to make a chili to expand the offerings at the festival food court. In those early years he only made a few gallons, but each fall demand continued to grow. The week leading up to this year’s Applefest, which begins Thursday, he plans to prepare 190 gallons for hungry festival-goers.

There are no secret spices and no special preparation methods to Father Harvey’s chili. What makes the dish successful, he says, is the freshness of its ingredients.

“The only thing that is canned is the beans,” he said.

He starts with fresh tomatoes – 19 bushels of them. He and a crew of volunteers scald, peel, cook and cool the tomatoes in the kitchen in a production line fashion. There’s a lot of laughs and conversation to be found among the tomatoes as people get to know each other and make quick work of chili preparations.

Three volunteers man the stoves and another six to eight people begin the task of chopping onions and green peppers – about 150 pounds of onions and five to seven bushels of peppers. In addition, Father Harvey expects to brown 320 pounds of ground beef during the process.

To appeal to a wide range of palates, he treads carefully with the spices, using only 8 oz. chili powder per batch. As Father Harvey explained, “I want people to know they are eating chili, but not turn away and not be able to eat it.”

Preparing the chili is one way Father Harvey likes to contribute to the community. He looks forward to making the huge quantities each year, saying the kitchens are a flurry of activity the week of Applefest. Chili volunteers take turns and share space with the apple pie volunteers, who are busy peeling and slicing bushels upon bushels of apples for the tasty dessert.

The chili will be available by the bowl to eat at the festival and by the quart for those who would like to take some home. Father Harvey knows some people who buy extra to take home and freeze for dinners and lunches later.

In past years the chili has sold out before the festival comes to a close. Weather can affect sales, said Father Harvey. Loyal fans will always stand in line for the chili despite even sweltering temperatures, but when summer breezes give way to autumn’s comfortable chill is when demand for the warm, hearty chili kicks into full gear.

The 39th Applefest runs from Sept. 15-18. In addition to the chili and apple pies, other attractions include a carnival midway, entertainment, bingo and a road race. For more information, visit the Applefest Web site, www.stjohnapplefest.org.