Church of Boston, located on Kilmarnock Street in the Fens, hosted its second-annual chili cookoff on Saturday. Eight city chefs offered up their twist on the down-home comfort food, a perfect fit for braving the New England cold, and fans packed the nightclub cum restaurant to give the recipes a try.

Adam Grushey, general manager of Church, says the chili cookoff idea came up in a brainstorming session involving himself and other staff members. “We wanted to try to create a better sense of community in the restaurant scene in the Fenway,” he said.

Pictured above, at left: staff from Sweet Cheeks Q on Boylston Street served up its recipe of chile crab chili. Tiffani Faison, head chef at Sweet Cheeks, captured last year’s chili cookoff title.

Church chef John Rush offered up beef cheek chili, where the meat was deglazed by some Pretty Things Babayaga, one of the Cambridge brewery’s stouts. Other ingredients in the dish were guajillo, jalapeno and chipotle peppers, bone marrow-infused cornbread, and chipotle fondue on top. “I keep it simple,” Rush said of his chili recipe. “You sort of find its core origin and build on that.”

James Robertson of Plymouth (left) and Brandon Babiarz of Sandwich, who work at sister restaurant Union Fish Seafood & Raw Bar in Plymouth, dished out some of Rush’s chili.

Steve “Nookie” Postal, the “Around the World in 80 Plates” star and executive chef at Fenway Park, offered up a brisket and poblano chili topped with Frito crumbs. It also had a little coffee and chocolate included, Postal said. “I was trying to upscale Fritos as much as you can upscale Fritos,” he said.

John Mulcahy of Roslindale, who works for Postal in the EMC Club at Fenway, served up chili.

The crew from Jerry Remy’s offered up a beef and smoke house pork chili. Remy’s wasn’t looking to be too extravagant, Chef Jeremy Requena said. “Lots of love” was used to craft this recipe, sous chef Daniel Maranda said.

From left, Maranda, Requena, Quan Spanglear, and Ben Lorenc were in attendance Saturday.

Tico Chef George Rodrigues normally serves up a turkey chili at the Back Bay eatery, influenced by Spanish, Mexican, and Latin cuisine. Saturday’s offering had some twists, including turkey bacon, white beans, diced jalapeno, cilantro, and a San Simon cheese topping. “We tried to make one dish incorporating all” of our influences, he said.

Pots simmered at Tico’s table during a lull in the action.

Also represented at the chili cookoff were Bryan Young of Citizen Public House (left) and Brian Reyelt of Tasty Burger, shown here serving up chili.

Sweet Caroline’s was the only participating restaurant that offered up a complete recipe for its wagyu chili recipe. The chili was a Texas-style chili, meaning its bean-free, chef Cesar Rijo said. It included a variety of peppers, Berkshire pork, and smoked sausage.

After a couple of hours, it was time for the public and the judges to offer their thoughts on which chili was best. The three-judge panel voted “Nookie” Postal’s brisket and poblano chili as best of the event. Postal (right) posed after receiving his award.

The audience chose Tico’s turkey chili recipe as the day’s best. George Rodrigues (right) accepted his trophy.

After the results were announced the participating chefs posed for a photo.