A Little Of This, A Pinch Of That: St. Thomas University Priest Readies His Chili Cookoff Chops

Chilly weather is best for making chili, says the Rev. Mike Buentello, campus ministry director at St. Thomas University. [...] of what Monday's weather brings, Buentello and his cadre of chili chefs will be ready to take on more than a dozen competing teams in the university's seventh chili cookoff. Buentello, a Wharton County native who came to the Houston Catholic university in July 2008 after assignments in upstate New York, Indiana and Michigan, said he applies his culinary talents to a range of dishes from barbecue to a nuanced saffron-tinged paella. Competing with Buentello's team, which should start cooking over a propane stove by 8 a.m., will be teams made up of students and faculty.