Kurt von Meier - Chili Guru for the Day
Kurt was declared "chili guru for the day" by the Napa Register in its newspaper coverage of the Chili contest at the Napa Town and County Fair's 50-year Golden Jubilee, held on August 9, 1980. The article states "Speaking mystically about his preparation, von Meier said he was making an exclusively 'New World' chili. All the ingredients were in use in North and South America before the Europeans arrived." This included chilies from the Cubeos tribe in the Amazon, which he described as the "hottest and possibly the tastiest chili pepper in the world." His preparatory notes refer to these chilies as "Cubeo Vuquitania."
Oh, yes...to give you some idea of the depth of Kurt's self-documentation, or what he'd call the artistry of self-referential paradox, below is a copy of the Chili Contest announcement which appeared in the Napa Register; Kurt clipped it, kept it, entered the contest, was named "Chile Guru" in the same newspaper after the event, and finally placed it within a manila folder tucked alongside everything else on this page. This is the way of scholars and art historians, not hoarders.
Here's the Jose Que name tag Kurt used during the contest; it's in his own inimitable handwriting.
Finally, as Jose Que, Kurt was contacted by Veronica di Rosa from Napa Landmarks about getting his chili recipe.
