Dax Lee's Chili Cook-Off runs on 'no rules'

The annual bean boil raised over $10,000 for homeless nonprofits in Oakland.

A stewy blend of beans, tomatoes, and hot peppers?

Surprisingly, the answer was elusive at Dax Lee's fifth annual chili cook-off. With 16 different chilis, each one more unique than the last, the chefs made it difficult to pin down just what makes a chili a chili.

Partnering with Town Nights, a community program run by the Department of Violence Prevention, the cook-off was held in Snow Park next to Lake Merritt. Chefs from some of Oakland's top restaurants, bars and one cactus greenhouse presented their take on the classic American dish.

Dax Lee's Chili Cook-Off started in 2019 out of Dan Diemidio's barber shop in downtown Oakland, Dax Lee's Barber and Apothecary, as a fundraiser for United Streets, a homeless outreach organization that no longer operates. Once the motorcyclists rolled in and the keg of beer donated from Ghost Town Brewing was tapped, there was no doubt that the cook-off would happen again.

"It was just a good-ass time," Diemidio said. "Basically we're talking about a DIY punk show that became a chili cook-off."

Department of Violence Prevention

And in true punk spirit, their efforts are about more than music and chili. The first year, they raised around $2,000. Since then, they've donated over $20,000 to nonprofits serving homeless people in the East Bay. In 2026, the more than $10,000 raised will go toward funding the Homeless Action Center and West Oakland Punks with Lunch.

"These are people. They're our neighbors. They deserve human rights, and they deserve everything that we afford," Diemidio said. "Sometimes they just need more of an on ramp than us."

West Oakland Punks with Lunch have been beneficiaries of the chili cook-offs since 2019. They use the proceeds to pay for meals, hygiene supplies and harm reduction tools, said Briana Bush, a volunteer with the group. It helps offset costs to host their care villages in Grove Shafter Park that provide people with free services such as healthcare, haircuts, and petcare and cost the organization thousands of dollars to put on, according to Bush.

The chili cook-off is one way Diemidio gets people involved in giving back to the community. "It calls attention to a thing that everybody complains about, but nobody does anything about," Diemidio said. "It calls attention to homelessness."

At first, it was just a fun idea between Diemidio and another barber. "People love a chili cook-off," said Diemidio, and it can be adapted to any diet, from vegans to meat-eaters alike.

In the past, tickets for chili tasting were on a sliding scale of $5 to $10, but in 2026, the cost was a firm $30. This year was the biggest chili cook-off to date and the first one that required an event permit from the city. Snow Park was split into sections: the stage on one end, the chili tents in the middle, and a vendor market at the other.

Diemidio

With 16 different chilis to taste, the only way that felt right was to start at one end with Aburaya's mouth-watering, Japanese-inspired combination and sample to the other side, ending with World Famous Hotboys's delectable spiced mole. In between were chilis from Pizzeria Violetta, last year's winner Raymond Tamayo of 12 Top Catering, Ok's Deli, Fungi Foods and Vegan Daddy, to name a few.

Aburaya co-owners Adachi Hiroyuki and Christina Miyagi have participated in the chili cook-off since 2019.

"Every year, we're like 'what is chili?'" Miyagi said.

Hiroyuki took to YouTube to research and Miyagi thought about how the chili she ate growing up was always topped with mayonnaise. That's where she had the idea to finish this year's chili with a miso ranch they serve at their restaurant

Cooking in their pot was a colorful mixture, the green edamame contrasting against the red beefy stew prepared with sake and yuzu. Paired with their tangy loquat hot sauce made with fruits plucked from a friend's tree, this chili was a strong contender from the beginning.

Other participants also drew inspiration from their family's chili recipes. Jonathan De La Torre from World Famous Hotboys made a chili based on his family's roots. He blended one recipe from his grandfather who owned a barbecue restaurant in Arkansas and his other grandfather's mole recipe from Zatega, Mexico. They created a rich, sweet flavor, rounding off the chili tasting in an almost desert-like flavor.

Many chili tasters pointed out that one chili wasn't really a chili at all. Chef Hakim Fazal from Jaji, an Afghan restaurant, served up kofta, a Middle Eastern meatball cooked in warm spices. Fazal is used to adapting different cuisines in his cooking, so deciding what to present at the cook-off was not a challenge. When he came to Jaji he had been working in a Japanese restaurant for 10 years and had to learn his way around new spices and techniques. The kofta was served on top of a rice mixed with toasted cumin seeds.

World Famous Hotboys

Each tent was uniquely decorated. 12 Top Catering's "Chili con Queso" (topped with a cheese foam) was presented next to fresh sunflowers. Thee Stork Club's "Chili con Stork" (made with beef, not bird) looked like it came straight from the club against a Campbell's Soup printed tablecloth. The Lodge simply had a white poster board sign with "No Borders Chili" written in Sharpie.

A few chilis in, I already knew who would take the crown for me: Ok's Deli, whose specialty is sandwiches and who were competing for the first time. Their Korean-style "Braised Kalbi Chili," cooked with gochujang, tamari, and sesame oil and topped with cheese and chives, made for an intensely savory and sweet dish, a flavor experience I imagine would be similar to when Violet eats the three-course meal packed into a single stick of gum in Willy Wonka's factory. Ok's Deli, while they didn't place on the chili podium, took home the people's choice award as the most popular among ticket holders.

The competition was stiff. The judges, whose identities remained secret, had a difficult task before them. The "Chiluminati," as Diemidio calls them, are made up of chefs and bartenders who are "at the top of their game in the culinary field."

Toward the end of the day, people rushed to vote, and Diemidio took the stage in his pepper pants to thank the many sponsors and volunteers.

And then the moment came: In third place, with their take on a classic chili, was Pizzeria Violetta. In second place was The Lodge with their "No Borders Chili," which combined Texas, Midwest, and Mexican styles.

"Number one at the Dax Lee's Chili Cook-Off 2026," Diemidio said to the excited crowd.

"Aburaya," Diemidio announced. "You won after five years."

Reading between the lines

The stomp-stomp-clap of Queen's "We Are the Champions" echoed through the park as Hiroyuki and Miyagi ran up to the stage and were presented with a WWE-style belt and sworn to a promise to compete next year to defend their title or pass the belt on to the 2027 winner.

Though 16 amazing chilis were feasted upon and three heaped with championship-level praise, participants and taste testers alike did not leave with a clearer idea of what chili is.

"That's kind of the beauty of this chili cook-off," Diemidio said. "There's no rules."

Basically we're talking about a DIY punk show that became a chili cook-off.

The short version

• Surprisingly, the answer was elusive at Dax Lee's fifth annual chili cook-off
• Partnering with Town Nights, a community program run by the Department of Violence Prevention, the cook-off was held in Snow Park next to Lake Merritt
• In true punk spirit, their efforts are about more than music and chili

All told

The details will firm up over the coming months. What is already clear is that this is unlikely to be the last we hear of it.