Round Oak Revisited head chef Thomas O’Hara has thrown his hat in the ring for one of the hottest battles to be fought in Dowagiac, which traces its origin to a remote ghost town in Texas, where some of the hottest chili has been served.

Round Oak Revisited is among eight downtown restaurants that will be vying for top billing at Ice Time’s Chili Cook-off on Saturday.

Competitors also include The Baker’s Rhapsody, Beeson Street Bar & Grill, Caruso’s Candy Kitchen, Front Street Crossing, Wood Fire Italian Trattoria, Wounded Minnow Saloon and Zeke’s Restaurant.

“Taste testers will enjoy several variations of winter’s favorite soup, from mild to hardy, meat lover’s and the everyday variety,” said Kris Soenen, Chamber of Commerce treasurer and festival chairman.

As far as the competition’s newcomer feels, O’Hara said, “How can anyone claim to be serious about chili unless it contains at least three meats!”

Families at Round Oak Revisited will sample what O’Hara calls his Turducken chili.

Soenen said participants of the chili crawl may want to save Caruso’s Candy Kitchen for their last stop, since its chili may be on the sweeter side.

“It would not be Caruso’s without chocolate in our chili,” said owner Julie Johnson, who will be serving up chili flavored with coffee and dark chocolate.

The winter fine arts festival on Feb. 4 is one of several seasonal events hosted by the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce.

Major underwriters of the 2017 festival are: Lyons Industries, Platinum Level sponsor; Dowagiac Area Federal Credit Union and Clark Chapel/Starks Family Funeral Home, Gold Level sponsors; and Dowsett Chiropractic Health Center and SEMCO, Silver Level sponsors.  Another 30 businesses have sponsored the single-block ice carvings that will line Front Street and the timed ice carve-off beginning at noon p.m. at Beckwith Park.

Organizers have said the first documented chili cook-off took place in 1967 in Terlingua, a remote ghost town in Texas. Like gossip, the idea spread and since then, communities large and small have hosted their own competitions to determine who makes the best recipe.

“Here in Michigan, while some love it hot and others like it mild, most agree it is one of the best ways to warm up on a blustery winter afternoon,” Soenen said.

The chili crawl, as most locals call it, is open to the public free of charge, with sample-size containers served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Host sites are all located downtown and within easy walking distance to one another.

For a detailed schedule of festival events visit the Chamber’s Facebook page or its website, DowagiacChamber.com.