Meet the highschool friends turned chili cookoff champions behind the 2024 Golden Ticket Winner, Jedi Chili!
Written by Jordan Kossuth
📷 courtesy of Ashley Wierenga
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….
Jarrell Cisneros and Nathan Engweiler have been friends since their high school days at Reeths-Puffer, becoming roommates while attending Muskegon Community College.
About once a year, for a Superbowl party or other special occasion, they would spend the day in the kitchen around a pot of chili, perfecting an over 35 year in the making family recipe. It truly became a labor of love – one that everyone around them was sure to benefit from!
What started as a passion for creating a rich, flavorful, and hearty bowl of chili for friends and family has since grown into the opportunity to bring the “The Force” to everyone.
They burst onto the chili competition scene 9 years ago with The B.O.B’s Chilly, Blues & Brews – taking home 3rd place out of 65 teams. While both Jarrell and Nate consider themselves to be extremely competitive, they didn’t foresee themselves in a competitive cooking space. Nevertheless, with their first successful cook-off, they were hooked and began honing their recipe, expanding their flavor profile, and entering more competitions.
They also became members of the International Chili Society, a non-profit organization founded by renowned race car driver and chili enthusiast Caroll Shelby. The ICS sanctions chili cook-offs worldwide, establishing a strict set of rules and regulations for both cooking and judging.
Cisneros and Engweiler have taken home the 1st Place People’s Choice Award at the Ada Chili & Beer Festival the past two years, and are especially proud of these wins, as proceeds from the event go to support Ada Bible Church and Ronald McDonald House. And we’re sure that the trophy they left with was much easier to carry than the 25-50 gallons of chili they brought to this event!
As they continued taking the competitive chili world by storm, the common question amongst attendees was, “Where can we get this stuff?! Do you cater?” This overwhelmingly positive reception led to their segue into the food entrepreneur space.
📷 courtesy of Ashley Wierenga
From Chili Cookoff Champions to Wholesale Padawans
In March 2023, Jarrell and Nate started Force One Foods, with guidance from various local small business and start up support systems. They’ve seen amazing growth and accolades everywhere they go, from making Start Garden’s Top 100, to the Making it in Michigan Conference.
They created ingredients labels with the help of MSU Product Center, conducted shelf-life testing with Alliance Labs, and arranged wholesale production through the USDA approved facility Southfield based Athena Foods. All of this while working out of the GR Downtown Market’s Incubator Kitchen to continue bringing their chili to local events and markets!
Jedi Chili is an approachable brand, bringing fun and flavorful chili to our community. A standout moment for the pair was seeing a young girl at the Fulton Street Market put down her donut to finish her chili sample.
While their logo boasts a large, flaming chili pepper, they can confirm that the spice level is manageable for all palates, with a sweet and smokey flavor on the front end, and just a tinge of back heat. Nate jokes, “Jedi Chili is for everyone. The only thing that’s spicy is us.”
📷 courtesy of Connor Rake
Recipe Evolution: Never a “Bad Batch”
While the recipe has changed over the years, one commonality unites the current Jedi Chili with that original recipe from over three decades ago – it’s not ready until the spoon stands up in it.
“We love to eat and love a great meal. We’re always asking what other people are doing that is different, and how we could improve that recipe. We’re always trying new cooking methods. We’ve created the chili that we want to eat.”
Another guarantee with Jedi Chili? Whether you’ve found them at the farmer’s market, a local event, or in the deli section at Bridge Street Market, the mouthfeel and flavor profiles of every version of their chili are impeccable.
They have dialed every aspect of the process in, with each ingredient cooked in a very intentional manner to achieve the same competition-level chili in a shelf-stable and mass-produced environment. Their retail-ready Signature Beef & Bean Chili is the perfect example of this. Grilled sirloin and ground beef join uniformly chopped candied onions, poblanos, and tomatoes, alongside black beans, and powdered smoked serrano and hatch chili powder to create a hearty gourmet dish – all without compromising the time, effort, and authenticity they put into each pot.
📷 courtesy of Ashley Wierenga
Local, Intentional, and Coming to an Event Near You!
Jedi Chili is committed to using only the freshest ingredients and sourcing locally whenever possible. Beef is sourced from Sobie Meats in Walker, and fresh vegetables from vendors at the Fulton Street Market or Farm Link Connections. The pair are committed to giving back whenever they can, donating 5% of their profits from the Fulton Street Market to Kids Food Basket.
They are also intentional about food and container waste, using biodegradable spoons and sample containers, and bringing any of their event or farmer’s market leftovers to the unhoused population in downtown Grand Rapids. They closed out the Grand Rapids Christkindl Markt by bringing their last pan of artisan chili mac over to Heartside Park – guaranteed to help warm bellies during a cold Michigan winter.
While both Jarrell and Nate also work full time jobs, they’re grateful to family for supporting and assisting them along the way. Applying to grants, building their brand, and participating in local events takes massive amounts of time and coordination. And with a summer schedule filled with events like Grand Rapids Foodie Fest, Rebel Road Motorcycle Rally, and Friday and Saturday booths at Fulton Street Market – it’s all hands on deck!
📷 courtesy of Ashley Wierenga
So Much More Than Just Chili
Chili is a national, recognizable, and easily customizable dish. And when you’ve been in the chili game for as long as these two, the obvious next step is spinning off into other products.
“We started out towards the end of March, which was the perfect weather for chili. Now we’re not really in the traditional chili season, but we still want to get our brand out there.”
With some creativity in the kitchen, they’ve repurposed their product, offering some nostalgia filled favorites – walking tacos and chili dogs – alongside their Signature Brisket Chili at the Fulton Street Market. This year they celebrated Star Wars Day (May 4th) at the Tots & Taps Fest at LMCU Ballpark by slathering various chili offerings over crisp, deep fried tater tots.
And whenever they partner with local breweries and have access to a full kitchen, they’re sure to whip up something fun! This fall they brought the comfort food to City Built with their version of a Shepherd’s Pie – smoked brisket chili covered with a decadent butter garlic mash, topped with brown butter crispy hashbrowns.
In the retail space, they have plans to include vegetarian and meat only chili options, a gluten and dairy free tomatillo based Thai Curry Chicken Chili and Chicken Verde Chili, and a Chili Spice Kit so you can make your own Jedi Chili at home!
📷 courtesy of Ashley Wierenga
Bringing the Force to Bridge Street Market
At the 2024 Making it in Michigan Trade Show awards, Cisneros and Engweiler were honored to receive the Golden Ticket Award from Meijer – guaranteeing a spot for Jedi Chili in our Meijer Market Format stores in Michigan – including our very own Bridge Street Market!
Stop by the deli section at Bridge Street Market to experience the power of Jedi Chili for yourself, with 16 and 32 oz containers of their Signature Beef & Bean Chili – available in both traditional and spicy. And don’t forget to grab some shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips to complete the meal!
You can also find their Hot Dog Chili, a condensed version of their signature chili flavor profile with locally sourced ground beef that is the perfect topping for a classic hot dog – just in time to level up your next summer cookout or this weekend’s 4th of July celebration!