When one new york writer claimed he serve up the best batch, A texas wrinter was quick to challenge. They could only agree to a flavorful showdown in this sleepy Trans-Pecos town and the rest was history.
The World Championship Chili Cook-off at Terlingua began as a tongue-in-cheek challenge between Wick Fowler and humorist H. Allen Smith in 1967 with the judges declaring a draw.
H. Allen Smith subsequently wrote a book about this event entitled The Great Chili Confrontation published in 1969.