A group of soldiers are preparing to deploy…to a cooking event.

According to the Kansas National Guard, culinary specialists from the 2nd Battalion, 235th Regiment- Culinary School of Excellence in Salina will put their cooking skills to the test at the Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cook-off in Wichita on Saturday, September 28th.

The 2019 nationwide chili cook-off competition in Wichita draws approximately 100 cooking teams and 5,000 community members. Although not in the running for cash or prizes, the team took an honorary 1st place for their chili in last year’s competition.

The Guard chefs will prepare 10 gallons of chili using a recipe by Master Sgt. David Medina Jr. The event will take place in the 600 block of East Douglas Street in downtown Wichita from 9 to 11 a.m. with judging and public tasting from noon to 3:30 p.m.

Company B of the KSARNG Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Wichita, will also sponsor a team for the second year. The team will include cooks from the 170th Maintenance Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 635th Regional Support Group; and the Wichita State ROTC program.

Culinary specialists prepare meals for National Guard soldiers when called to service for training, mobilizations or state disasters.

The Culinary School of Excellence teaches the 10 level Military Occupational Skill-T course to Soldiers from the entire United States.

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Photo via Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cook-off social media