This past Saturday, two of Kensington's eco-friendly retailers crossed their fingers, stuffed them into mittens and hoped the weather would hold up to allow for a successful first run of what they hoped would become an annual vegan chili cook-off for charity.

Veg- and eco-friendly shoe retailer Left Feet and clothing retailer Heart On Your Sleeve (previously profiled in our Green Toronto video series) set tables up in front of their conjoined stores and laid them out with crockpots, biodegradable spoons/bowls, and squares of vegan cornbread.

Magic Oven, best known for their acclaim-winning pizza (nominated once again this year in the pizza category of our Best Of Independent Toronto poll) took home the #1 spot for their "Magic Vegan Chili", the only business that made it into the top 3. Though some people commented that they found it too salty to select it as a favourite, that was the only complaint and the win should help call attention to the rest of their menu.

Second place went to Tikka Smiley's "Cha-Cha-Cha Chili" and third to Michelle Lee's "Chili with Avocado Salsa", both individual submissions.

Left Feet owner Steven Fish took a respectable-without-seeming-suspicious middle slot and commented afterwards on what he'd learned about competing in such an event - most especially the importance of creative garnish (such as Michelle's avocado salsa topping) in distinguishing a batch of chili from a table of competitors.

The event brought out a better response than anticipated and although the event was scheduled to run until 6 p.m. the chili had all disappeared by 4:30, raising a total of $735 for Out Of The Cold.

Photo: Chilly chili hands by blogTO Flickr pool contributor and third-place winner Michelle Lee.