The Buzzard Bar Cooking Team

10/09/2026

We haven't posted for a few months, and we're sorry about that. Hope you've had a great summer and are off to a good start on the new chili year! Our summer was kind of eventful. Several of the team have had health issues; two had procedures, and one had surgery. More of those things to come in the next few months, but first let's attend some cook-offs! We'll break these down into a couple of posts, but first we want to congratulate those team members who qualified later this summer. Congrats to Steve Herries and John Gray, who finished first and second at the Kemah Elks Lodge CCO in August, giving each of them exactly the number of points needed to qualify for TICC 2026! Then, Tricky Powell brought up the rear by qualifying at a last-chance CCO! Looking forward to having much of the team together in Terlingua this year. Diana Klade and Becky closed out the chili year with a 5th-place and 3rd-place finish in Hallettsville, respectively.

06/04/2026

Our Queen Buzzard is in the running for your favorite chef! Not really sure how this happened, but your vote would be appreciated. You can vote for free, once every 24 hours!

https://favchef.com/2026/becky-allen?fbclid=IwY2xjawSO1d9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeI4WmQiYBkSblyRrR9oyEfxH8J8bNXj6EE29GsCw9ZAfFKr33AxuMOerBvss_aem_7-n9aHO5Y_J0rYrOH6kr7g

One chef will win $25k, a feature in Taste of Home, and a cooking experience with Carla hall.

05/30/2026

We had a great time last weekend at the VASA POD Spring Fling chili cook-off, despite the mini hurricane on Saturday morning! Thankfully, the rain had stopped by turn-in time. Saturday in the bean category, Brent was 2nd and Diana Klade was first. In chili, Brent was 9th, Becky was 6th, Linda McDonald was 3rd, and April McDonald was 1st, giving her enough points to qualify for Terlingua! Kathie Cielencki was 1st in show. On Sunday, in the dip category, Becky was 2nd. In chili, Kathie was 9th, Butch Cielencki was 8th, Linda was 6th, and Butch was 3rd in show. The team is going to take some time off this summer to stay out of the heat and get some chores done around home base. We'll try to stay in touch and let you know what we're up to.

05/19/2026

We had a great weekend this past weekend in Converse at the Military Appreciation weekend chili cook-off at the American Legion Post 593! On Saturday, Becky placed 4th in chili, and Brent Allen was 2nd. Butch Cielencki was 3rd in Show, and Kathie Cielencki was 2nd in Show. We also got to celebrate Diana Klade 's birthday! On Sunday, Brent was 9th, Becky was 2nd, and Diana was both 1st in Show and Chili! Butch was 2nd in Show. This gave both Brent and Becky the points needed to qualify to cook in the CASI Chili Appreciation Society International championship in Terlingua in November. Look for us this coming weekend at the Victoria Coleto Lake RV Park for the VASA POD Spring Fling chili cook-off.

05/10/2026

We made the trip to Granite Shoals last weekend for the annual Howdy Roo regional chili cook-off. The team had a great showing with Diana Klade taking 3rd place beans and 10th place in chili, Brent Allen was 7th in chili and Becky Lynn was 5th in chili. Butch Cielencki made the Final Table, placing 16th. Next up - Converse American Legion Hall. Hope to see y'all there!

05/10/2026

We had a great long weekend a few weeks ago at Texas Ladies State chili cook-off! While none of our team walked the stage for chili, our team members Christine Knight and Kathie Cielencki won 2nd place in Show! We also had a great time with everyone celebrating Becky's birthday!

05/10/2026

Were you framed at Texas Ladies State? We hope we got your picture! Feel free to tag yourself or others.

04/05/2026

The team was split up to two different chili cook-offs last weekend - Navasota Elks Lodge and Ernie's Bar & Grill in Cibolo. Brent, Becky & Diana went to Navasota where they were joined by our Louisiana teammates, Ricky Bobby & Cherry Powell. It had been way too long since we've cooked with them! It was a great weekend at the Elks on Saturday with Diana Klade taking 5th place, Becky 2nd, and Cherry Powell taking 1st place! Sunday was the Colorado Valley Pod Cook-Off, where Brent came in 3rd, and Diana came in 2nd. Meanwhile, back in Cibolo at Ernie's, Saturday had Butch Cielencki in 10th place, Steve Herries 8th, and April McDonald 7th. Sunday's results were 5th Butch, 4th Larry Hodon, and 2nd Kathie Cielencki. Everyone is off this weekend for the Easter holiday, but some will be back cooking in Luling next weekend. Texas Ladies State is just around the corner, so be looking for us in Seguin on April 18th!

03/15/2026

We finally have had a weekend off to catch up on things around home base, and update you here on FB! The last Saturday of February had us at Traders Village in San Antonio for the Texas Open Chili Championship 50th anniversary! Not a bad showing by the team - Larry Hodon 23rd, Linda McDonald 21st, John Gray 15th, Becky 11th, and Brent Allen 7th. The day after was the Ken Rodd Memorial Chili Cook-Off and we had Jason Douglas (new team member!) in 5th place and Kathie Cielencki in 3rd place show. The next weekend, we traveled to Bastrop for the John & Sue Caffey Memorial CCO, and Diana Klade was 3rd in beans, and Becky was 2nd. No chili love for the team that day. Sunday was the SOT Pod CCO, and Diana was 6th and earned her final point to qualify to cook in Terlingua at the CASI Chili Appreciation Society International cook-off! We're enjoying a couple of weekends off before we're back on the chili trail.