Student wins award in chili cook-off

Just 15 years old, Aiken High sophomore Tom Diehl has become the informal king of chili in nearby Lexington County.

A year ago the culinary arts student entered a benefit Chili Cook-Off and Car and Bike Show at the Carolina Ale House in Lexington. There were six other competitors. Diehl won.

He returned Sunday to defend his title, this time going against 14 other cooks. Diehl didn't take first place but captured an equally valuable honor - the People's Choice Award.

"That's the very best award to win," said Jean Gorthy, his culinary arts instructor. "That's what you want - all the people to love your food instead of just three judges. Everybody will come to your restaurant and buy your product."

Many people venture far into adulthood before they get a glimmer of what they really want to do with their lives. Diehl, the son of Karen and Andrew Diehl, figured that out at the age of 11, when he took a home economics class at Schofield Middle School.

"I really liked it and started cooking at home," he said. "It's just regular home food, like spaghetti and grilled chicken. My parents were really happy about it."

Diehl enrolled in Gorthy's introductory class as a ninth-grader, a member of a great freshman class of prospective chefs, she said. Gorthy recalls that, early on that year, Diehl handed her a note one day.

"He asked me to move him away from another student, who was talking in class a lot," she said. "He said he really cared about the class, and I thought that was very mature for a 14-year-old."

The chili cook-off event was sponsored by the Lexington County Law Enforcement Association. Proceeds will go to the S.C. Law Enforcement Memorial Wall.

Diehl heard about the 2010 contest from his dad, who works for the Lexington County EMS. To prepare for the event, he started experimenting with ingredients, eventually adding portions of deer meat, turkey bacon and cayenne pepper to give the chili a good smoky flavor. Obviously, his recipe met with instant success.

"This year I used ground sirloin and cooked it the day before," said Diehl, who works part-time at Newberry Hall and hopes to attend Johnson & Wales or Trident Technical College.

His mother, Karen Diehl, said Tom's chili was a huge hit at the cook-off.

"A couple of people were begging him to tell them what he put in the chili," she said. "One woman was in her 50s and said she loves to cook. She kept saying, 'I have to know. It's the best chili I've had in my life.'"

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.