Last October, the first booth a panel of judges reached on Ennis's Main Street belonged to Shedhorn Sports, where the dish was a bolognese. Later on the route came Dan Furlong's elk green chili verde. Willie's Distillery ran walking tacos "with assembly line precision." The Madison Valley Public Library was serving something it called Calypso chili, with calypso music to go with it. All of this comes from The Madisonian's account of the 2025 Hunters Feed, written by reporter Mati Bishop after he spent the afternoon in one of the judges' orange aprons.
The Ennis Chamber of Commerce bills the event as a wild game cook-off for "chefs of all abilities," held every year on the Friday before rifle season opens. The cooks are the town itself, including the sporting goods store, the distillery, the auto shop, the library, a conservation coalition and a restaurant kitchen, all competing on one street before the valley's attention moves into the hills for five weeks.
This year's version, the 40th, runs Friday, October 23, 2026, from 3 to 5 p.m. The general deer and elk season opens the next morning, October 24, and runs through November 29, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Who Actually Shows Up With a Crockpot
The 2025 field had 15 entries, and The Madisonian's account reads like a walking directory of Ennis.
- Shedhorn Sports opened the route with that bolognese, which Bishop thought "would be a hit at any hunting camp."
- D&D Auto, the event's title sponsor, made a traditional chili that the paper called "well executed and delicious."
- The Madison Valley Public Library brought the Calypso chili, music included.
- The Continental Divide, led by executive chef Jon Kulon, brought two dishes, an ancho chili and an arancini.
- Madison Passages served a chili called "Did Not Get Across." The group brings together Preserve Raynolds Pass, the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group, Henry's Fork Wildlife Alliance, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and the National Parks Conservation Association to work on reducing vehicle collisions with wildlife.
Other dishes on Bishop's route included an elk kofta in baharat sauce and an elk andouille gumbo. The judging panel was just as local. It included Madison County commissioner Bill Todd, in his third straight year as a judge, and deputy county attorney Colton Lauer, back for his second. The Chamber's event coordinator, Stephanie Mohr, handed out the aprons.
The judge with the deepest ties was Chris DiMichele. The Madisonian credits him with processing "the lion's share of the wild game harvested in the area" through Deemo's, and says he was winning the feed back in the 1990s, "before there were plaques or trophies, when only bragging rights were up for grabs." So the man who handles much of the valley's harvest each fall also helps judge the town's wild game cooking the day before that harvest begins. Deemo's is also on the Chamber's 2026 sponsor board for the event.
How a Dish Wins, and Where Your Vote Counts
Two sets of scores decide the afternoon.
The judges score each entry from one to nine in three categories: appearance, taste and mouthfeel. The Southwest Montana event listing says awards go to best chili, best non-chili and most unusual dish, plus an overall trophy. Cooks also register in one of two divisions, novice or professional, according to the Chamber's 2026 entry form.
Everyone else gets a vote too. The same listing says tasters sample dishes and vote, and describes the event as free. The Chamber raises money through T-shirt and raffle ticket sales.
The public vote can upset the judges' picture. In 2025, Willie's walking tacos won the People's Choice Award and also the judges' prize for best non-chili. The Madisonian credited part of the People's Choice win to "creative and well timed requests for votes." In the professional division, the Continental Divide won with an arancini built around a sausage of rattlesnake, rabbit and jalapeño.
Chili draws the most competition. Bishop wrote that "no dish brought out the creativity and competitive fire in the offerings like the coveted chili division." Furlong's elk green chili verde took best chili, and the paper noted he had already won the event two years in a row. It added, half-joking, that "before long the award for best chili will simply be called the Furlong." Bishop's own ballot put Madison Passages' "Did Not Get Across" chili at the top, in what he called a very close race.
The Afternoon, Hour by Hour
The Chamber's schedule for 2026 runs from setup into the evening:
- 2 p.m. Entrants start picking up their numbers and supplies from the Chamber.
- 3 to 5 p.m. The Hunters Feed itself, along Main Street.
- About 5:15 p.m. Winners are announced at Willie's Distillery.
- 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The 11th Annual Critter Call Competition at Willie's, with prizes.
- All day. The Chamber lists live music at local bars and store specials.
A free ice cream truck is part of the afternoon too. It hands out Wilcoxson's ice cream and collects donations for Shodair Children's Hospital in Helena.
Willie's Distillery sits at 312 E Main Street and lists hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Its FAQ gives serving hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The distillery opened its original Ennis tasting room in 2012 and expanded it in 2023. It names the Hunters Feed and the Critter Call among its major community events.
The Critter Call has the thinnest public record of anything on the schedule. The most detailed account found is a 2017 Explore Big Sky preview. That year both adults and kids were invited to compete in five categories: big game; waterfowl and upland bird; predator; barnyard animal; and "other." Same-day registration closed at 5 p.m. The format may have changed since then. Check with the Chamber for this year's rules before you practice your elk bugle on the drive into town.
If You're Bringing a Dish This Year
The 2026 entry form is on the Chamber's Hunters Feed page. Its logistics are worth reading closely. Organizers supply utensils and sample cups. Everything else comes from the cook.
- Your own setup. Bring tables, chairs, a tent, crockpots and serving spoons.
- A 32-gallon trash can. Every booth needs one, and you take your trash with you when the event ends.
- A spot off the pavement. Entries tied to a Main Street business should arrange space at that business. Other cooks can arrange a spot at a business or ask the Chamber for space at Peter T's Park. Booths may not set up in the road.
- A division. Choose novice or professional when you register your dish.
Because booths set up at businesses instead of in the street, the 2025 judges' route ran along the storefronts, and it included a stop at the Longbranch for what Bishop called "much needed palette cleansers."
Saturday Morning, and the Five Weeks After
The cook-off ends at 5 p.m., and the season it's named for starts at first light the next day. FWP's August 31, 2026 Region 3 forecast says all Bozeman-area elk districts are within or above their population goals. It points to an average-to-below-average harvest in 2025 and a light winter, which suggests "an excellent hunting outlook for 2026 if we get good hunting weather." The same forecast warns about crowding on easily reached public land. It also notes that elk may gather on private land where access is limited, and it urges hunters to get landowner permission well ahead of time. FWP calls HD 360 the Madison Valley pronghorn district and reports higher numbers and buck-to-doe ratios there for 2026.
For hunters who send an animal out for processing or taxidermy, FWP's chronic wasting disease guidance says brain and spinal tissue must be disposed of in a Class II landfill after processing. FWP also offers CWD testing, which is free and voluntary in most places.
After opener, the Chamber's festivals calendar goes quiet until Shop Small Weekend on November 27 and 28, the final weekend of rifle season. The Spirit of Christmas Stroll follows on Main Street on Friday, December 4, from 3 to 7 p.m. That makes the Hunters Feed the last Chamber event on Main Street before the holidays.
Dawn has lived in the Madison Valley for more than two decades, and she knows the fall calendar around opener as well as she knows its riverbanks and ranch roads. If the Friday before opener is part of why you love this valley, and you're thinking about land or a home close enough to walk down to Main Street for it, Dawn Myrvik would be glad to talk it over. Connect with Dawn to start your Montana lifestyle search.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
