Journalists battle it out over chili

The number of journalists in Denver may be shrinking, but the media scene is still cooking - at least when it comes to chili. A few dozen reporters, editors, photographers and the like (including yours truly) will battle it out tonight (March 13) at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm, for the title of chili champion of the Fourth Estate.

The event benefits the Women's Bean Project, a twenty-year-old nonprofit organization that has been helping women "break the cycle" of unemployment and poverty; the project specializes in, yes, beans. Its product line runs the gamut from soup and chili mixes to salsa mixes, spice rubs, coffee beans and jelly beans.

The fourth annual Celebrity Chili Cookoff is open to the public, and tickets cost $20. Doors open at 6 p.m., and there'sis a cash bar (with former Denver Nuggets Ervine Johnson and Mark Randall serving drinks).

Last year's winners included press club president Bruce Goldberg, Post reporter Elizabeth Aguilera and Rocky photographer Jaime Aguilar. Who will win this year? Only the chili gods know for sure.