Meet ex-Minnesotan 'Office' star who became 'the chili guy' and cookbook author

A cool and rainy spring weekend calls for chili, and the timing couldn't be better.

Actor and former Minnesotan Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin Malone on the NBC hit "The Office," is appearing at Barnes & Noble in Maplewood Mall on Saturday, May 6, to sign copies of his "Seriously Good Chili Cookbook: 177 of the Best Recipes in the World" (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2022).

Fans have two options. From noon-2 p.m., $24.99 will get you an autographed copy of the cookbook, and Baumgartner will sign one personal item and take a photo with your group. From 2-4 p.m. it's purely a meet and greet, but it's free. Baumgartner won't sign autographs, but groups will get one photo with the actor-turned-cookbook author.

Baumgartner's role as accountant and chili aficionado on the sitcom catapulted to meme status during the fifth season in 2009, when his character spills a giant pot of his special chili on the floor of the gray-carpeted Dunder Mifflin office.

"On April 30, 2009, at roughly 9:02 p.m., my life changed forever. I became known as the chili guy," he wrote in the book.

Years after "The Office" ended, he decided to make a pot of chili at home and posted about it on social media, much to the delight of fans. His foray into chili proficiency began.

He has since embraced his chili ambassadorship, with book tours, appearances and judging chili competitions. He shares his favorite chili recipe in the book, along with recipes from cook-off winners, chefs, bloggers and fans as well as tips (the trick is to undercook the onions) and trivia.

Baumgartner, who was raised in Atlanta, started on "The Office" shortly after leaving the Twin Cities, where he had spent seven years acting on various stages, including the Guthrie Theater and Theatre de la Jeune Lune. At one point, he was the artistic director for the now defunct Hidden Theatre.

For more information, visit Maplewood Mall's Facebook page. The mall is at 3001 White Bear Av. N. in St. Paul.