Dear Editor,
“On Oct. 12, Ludlow Rotary Club held its 33rd annual Chili Cook-off.” This is the introduction to an Okemo Valley TV video where one of the participants is featured receiving an award for his chili in the spiciest category (see at 4 minutes, 58 seconds). No surprise, the name of his chili was “Reactor No. 4”, same as last year. Once more this mysterious name for chili appeared in the video, zoomed in at 3 minutes, 33 seconds. If you google “reactor 4,” here is what comes up: “The Chernobyl disaster began on April 26, 1986, with the explosion of the Number 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the City of Pripyat in northern Ukraine.”
Since the winner had used the name “Chernobyl” in 2022, I do not believe he did not know the origin of the name. Did the organizers know? Did the interviewer? If not, this was the chance to ask the winner the question I posed to the Ludlow Rotary Club on Oct. 7, 2023, “Why did the chef choose the name ‘Reactor No. 4?'” The answer from the club was, “Sorry, we don’t know.” Don’t you want to know? The saga of this question had continued on Oct. 17, 2023, with my letter to the editor of the Vermont Journal, “LTE Chili names reference tragic events.” Here are some excerpts: “On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl’s reactor No. 4 melted down due to human error and released radioactive particles into the air, 400 times more radioactivity than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Is this why this chili is the spiciest? Both were horrific tragedies. Living witnesses to these disasters may not want to associate a bowl of chili with a disaster they lived through. What would any sensible person think of chili named Three-Mile Island?”
My hope is that next year’s Chili Cook-off organizers would ask questions about origins of chili names. This year they failed. Using the name associated with tragic events in any country is in bad taste. It is especially insensitive when it comes to Ukraine, as the country is bleeding from fighting the Russian invasion. We Americans are better than that.
Sincerely,
Svetlana Phillips
Cavendish, Vt.