“Chili is a largely a state of mind,” wrote Bill Bridges in “The Great American Chili Book,” and nowhere is that truer than in the spicy world of chili cook-offs, where a champion’s mindset — along ...

Tana Harter knows what she wants in her chili: creamy heartiness, a glisten and glow, melt-in-your-mouth meat and consistent spiciness. But half an hour before judging began at the 2018 International ...