If turkey becomes your least-favorite food after Thanksgiving, the first annual High Desert Robinson Regional & Mojave Desert Regional chili cook offs at the CasaBlanca Resort Nov. 25-26 is sure to be the ideal alternative.With a strong field of about 40 entries expected from Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas and Idaho, the smell of chili will fill the air.

The International Chili Society (ICS) sanctioned double header will be the first of its kind at the CasaBlanca and an early reading of the enthusiasm was running at a high level weeks before the event. Better yet, those attending the event can participate in the Peoples Choice portion of the event. For $5, visitors will have the opportunity to sample the chili while raising funds for the Lancaster, Calif., Children’s Literacy Project.

“We love coming to Mesquite especially during this time of year,” said event organizer and Lancaster resident Susie Baumberger. “Thanksgiving cook offs usually draw good fields anyway, and we expect this one to be very big.

“Mesquite is so nice this time of year anyway and it’s a very desirable location for cooks from several states. It will be just cool enough for the chili to be appealing but warm enough to be comfortable.”

Baumberger said the entries will include the best chili cooks, chili Verde cooks and about 20 salsa cooks.

Baumberger has cooked in several competitions over the years and will be seeing the event from a different perspective. Her husband, Ron Burt, is also a former world champion having won the title in Reno in 2002.

Among the notable participants in the CasaBlanca event will be Jim Beaty of Bakersfield, Calif.; Maud Swick, also of Bakersfield; and Bill Ray, a former world champion from Riverside, California.

“I have been involved in chili cookoffs for about 20 years,” Baumberger said. “It’s like one big family. No matter where you go, you run into someone that you know. I have cooked in Georgia, New Hampshire, Alabama and Mexico.”

Baumberger describes the typical chili cooker as an empty nester who is over the age of 40. She said those entering the competition usually review other recipes on line at the Chili Cookoff website (www.chilicookoff.com).

“This involves some travel,” she said. “Being on the chili trail is actually part of the fun and when you get to your destination and see all your friends, it makes everything that much better.”

While the competition is certainly fun for the competitors, it can also be very beneficial because of the prize money guaranteed.

“First place at this cookoff for red chili is $500 each day,” Baumberger explained. “Once you win a cookoff, you’re then qualified for the World Championship Cookoff where first place money is $25,000. The next upcoming World Championship cook off is scheduled the first weekend of October in Charleston, West Virginia.”

Baumberger may put it best when she said ICS founder Carroll Shelby once said “there is no such thing as bad chili. Just some are better than others.”

Baumberger also added that the High Desert doubleheader would be filmed by Yahoo for usage on the Food Channel.

Further information regarding the High Desert & Mojave Desert Regional double header can be found at www.chilicookoff.com; www.mesquitechili.com; or by calling Michele Yegge Evans of Mesquite Gaming at 888-711-4653, ext. 14.