Spanish Main Yacht Club cozies up with chili smorgasbord

Longboat Key
Neighbors

With the recent chilly weather on the Key, the Spanish Main Yacht Club found the perfect way to cozy up and warm up.

Judy Behny and Nancy Smith held their final annual Soup and Chili Dinner and are ready to pass down the baton.

This is the third year the pair has hosted the staple dinner, and it has become a beloved event among the Spanish Main community. This year, it was held on Jan. 18 in the clubhouse starting at 5 p.m. The event was sold out with 100 guests in attendance.

Residents brought soups or chilis to add to the variety of 21 dishes. The soup and chili spread spanned ham, leek and potato soup, Maryland crab soup, wedding soup, white chicken chili, no bean chili, turkey chili and more.

Each guest received three paper bowls to try the different dishes. Behny and Wenzel also made dessert plates for guests to enjoy after their soup and chili dinner.

“People will bring their favorite recipe of soup or chili and get to share it with us,” said Smith. “So I think it's amazing that we get to try a variety of different dishes that say a bit about those people. It is also amazing to see everyone together.”

author

Petra Rivera

Petra Rivera is the Longboat community reporter. She holds a bachelor’s degree of journalism with an emphasis on reporting and writing from the University of Missouri. Previously, she was a food and drink writer for Vox magazine as well as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian.