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I had gone to a couple of cook-offs that year hosted by an actor and sometime stand-up comedian named Matt Timms. The “Takedown” series, as it was called, began with just Chili Takedowns, and several rounds later, the classic cook-off spawned other competitions based on fondue, cookies, or key ingredients, such as bacon. Though we’d go to all of them, it seemed like there just weren’t enough Takedowns and other local cook-offs for us. One night as Karol and I were having drinks, we found ourselves discussing what type of food we would choose if we were hosting our own cook-off. Then we nabbed it: risotto. The creamy-textured rice dish, we decided, was easily adaptable to so many flavors and ingredients that it would make a perfect cook-off food. We looked at each other and each raised an eyebrow: Why not just organize it ourselves?

The Risotto Challenge, as we called it, took place in early April that year, in a crowded bar in Brooklyn. Eighteen amateur risotto chefs entered, inventing risottos that were more creative than I could have ever conceived: One had blueberries, another kimchee; one had white peaches and pancetta; others, artichoke or loads of herbs, and they were all uniquely tasty. As much fun as it was, the event required a hefty amount of organizational work for Karol and me, and because we didn’t want to charge anything at the door or ask contestants to pay for anything but their homemade risottos, we each lost a bit of money on incidental expenses. But a good time was had by all, and from our success, I could sense a growing fervor for the amateur cook-off in New York City.

One of the annual cook-offs in the city was actually hosted by Kara from Ted and Amy’s Supper Club. It was called the Great Hot Dog Cook-Off, and in its past two years Kara had run it as a fund-raiser for a pet shelter in Brooklyn. This year, she asked me to join her in hosting the event in her backyard in July. I eagerly jumped on board. This time, though, in response to the growing prices of food and shortages of food donations across the city, we made it a benefit for the Food Bank of NYC, a hunger nonprofit. Again, the creativity from the amateur chefs was impressive, the event a huge success despite a lot of organizational work on our part, and through ticket sales from attendees, we raised our goal of $1,000 for the charity. I was amazed by the support. By doing something that we would have already loved to do in any case, we’d somehow managed to make money appear for the Food Bank. I vowed that any cook-off I hosted from that point on would be a fund-raiser for a nonprofit organization.

Cooking competitions are hardly a thing spawned on New York City soil. Home-cooking pride has inspired cook-offs throughout the world, from humble potluck-like affairs to more organized competitions with venerable judging panels and often a charity fund-raising cause. There are some that are hosted by major food corporations, such as the Pillsbury Bake-Off, while others remain grassroots traditions like the innumerable chili and barbecue brawls of the South. The Chili Appreciation Society International moderates more than 550 cook-offs around the world annually, which raise more than $1 million for charity. Every October since 1967, another chili cook-off organization, the International Chili Society, has hosted the World’s Championship Chili Cook-Off in different locations throughout the States. It is the world’s largest cook-off event.

It seemed that New York was only beginning to take part in a culinary phenomenon that had been captivating home cooks for half a century. That summer, I was beginning to see a community of us newbie fanatics forming. I’d invited many of the contestants from the Risotto Challenge to compete in the Great Hot Dog Cook-Off, and many of them entered. At the Chili Takedowns, there was a familiar batch of regular cooks, myself and Karol notwithstanding, and once word caught on about other cook-offs, the