Dec. 21, 2006
The snow continued to fall in Albuquerque, but there was no shortage of heat at El Pinto Restaurant last night as the New Mexico and San Jose State met each other for the first time at the New Mexico Bowl Team Welcome Dinner and Green Chile Stew Cook-off. If the competition on Wednesday night was any indication, New Mexico Bowl fans and the national ESPN television audience will be in for a treat when the Lobos and Spartans square off on Saturday afternoon.
Over 350 players, coaches, staff, fans and media members filled the famous Albuquerque restaurant in anticipation of the evening’s main event, the green chile stew cook-off. Each school fielded a team of six cooks and were given 45 minutes to turn raw ingredients into a delicious green chile stew, one of the state’s favorite dishes, with the winner to be decided by El Pinto owner Jim Thomas and Miss New Mexico 2006 Christina Hall.
While the visiting Spartans made a surprisingly strong showing, they were no match for the Lobos’ “green chile dream team” of Robert Turner, Bo Greer, Tyson Ditmore, George Carter and Roy Hackey.
Turner, a skilled and experienced cook, led the leaded squad, which also included: a green chile stew connoisseur in Albuquerque’s Carter, an up-and-coming chef in Santa Fe’s Miller and Hackey, the team’s secret weapon from The Chile Pepper Capital of the World – Hatch, N.M.
Greer, one of the Lobos’ best-known gourmands, and Ditmore, a second generation chile expert, were also in charge of the team’s dancing and singing presentation of the dish. However, the duo was shocked when the judges awared a disputed dance floor decision to San Jose State.
After a visit by both teams to the Carrie Tingley Children’s Hospital, the friendly, but intense, competition will resume tonight when the two sides face each other on the lanes at the Santa Ana Star Casino Starlight Bowling Alley.
Friday’s New Mexico Bowl events include the kickoff luncheon and press conference at the Sandia Resort and Casino, followed by the pep rally at Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerue. The pep rally gets underway at 5 p.m. and is free to the public.