ADVANCE – The Advance Fire Department Auxiliary hosted a competition chicken stew Saturday at the old fire station.

Many residents from the community and around the county came out for the fun-filled night. Four chicken stew chefs competed to win the title of Chicken Stew Champion for 2017.

The four teams consisted of: Darrell and Angie Burton, firefighter/chicken stew legend and auxiliary member;  Rodney and Tammy Miller, who have two boys in the junior firefighter program; Jim and Maureen Elliott, she is an auxiliary member; and Jeff and Lora Carter, he is a board member/firefighter and she is the secretary of the auxiliary.

Each team gave samples of their stew and filled the bowls of those who chose their recipe as their favorite. The dinner guests placed their votes by placing their donations in their favorite team’s box.

All four teams prepared traditional milk-based stews, with the Elliott’s also offering a vegetable filled chicken stew which was the talk of the night. All four teams collected donations for the auxiliary, but in the end, the Carter team supporters sent their team to the victory circle with the largest donation of the night.

There was also a huge selection of desserts available and hotdogs.

Gaining Ground Bluegrass Band provided entertainment full of music and laughter. They kept the dining room guests toes tapping and hands clapping.

Proceeds benefit the auxiliary, which will use the funds to support the firefighters and community outreach events such as “What Christmas Is All About.”