To me, chili needs to be beefy. So, I make beef stock first. That's a carrot, a bay leaf, some celery, and an onion plus a quality soup bone. Obviously, you throw the veggies/bone away when you are done.
I also use a ton of fresh garlic. Refried beans instead of pinto. My final trick is a bottle of stale beer mixed with corn meal. I slowly drip the slurry into the chili until it disappears.
As for the rest? I play around with that. Variety makes things interesting for the Gifted One.