Cool weather got you thinking warm food?

Consider letting your taste buds help judge a chili cookoff Saturday, Sept. 21, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Wiscasset Ambulance Station.

It's even for a good cause. The nonprofit Wiscasset Ambulance Attendants Association is putting on the event to benefit the Wiscasset Ambulance Service.

Kristin Draper, who serves on the association's fundraising committee, got the idea from cookoffs in other Maine towns. But this one has the twist of inviting entrants with a connection to any public safety agency, from ambulance services to police departments and others, Draper said.

As of September 17, entries were planned from Wiscasset and Woolwich, and as far as Buckfield and New Sharon, Draper said. Anyone affiliated with a public safety agency can enter through Thursday, Sept. 19. Call Draper at 207-687-8004 or Sue Anderson at 207-350-1213; or email wisems.chili@gmail.com.

No reservations are needed to be a judge. The cost is $1 for each chili sample. Raffle tickets will also be sold, Draper said.

Although not a big chili fan herself, Draper will be getting into the act, making a batch for the “Like Ma's,” comfort-chili category. (She isn't tipping her spatula on what will go in it.)

Other planned categories included “Cause Some Like It Hot” and “No Meat Allowed.” Participants will also pick a “Best of the Best” winner from all the samples, Draper said.

The association plans to make the cookoff an annual event, in hopes that it and the new St. Patrick's Day lunch that started this year can be the group's major fundraisers.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.