Few things, during these final unpredictable weeks of winter, go hand-in-hand as well as a cold beer and hot bowl of chili -- especially when the recipe is based on beer.

Combining chili with Milwaukee's most famous export seems only logical, which sets the stage for the Milwaukee Chef's Cookoff: Chili Brew Edition, which will be held Saturday, March 12 at the Milwaukee Public Market.

Five local chefs will be teamed up with five local breweries to create their concoctions. Prizes awarded for the crowd favorite and judges' choice. A panel of local media personalities will make up the judging panel.

Attendees can enjoy as many samples of both beer and chili as they wish and also can enjoy live entertainment from IDA Jo & The Show or participate in a silent auction and raffles which include prizes like Bucks tickets, skydiving passes and travel vouchers from Southwest Airlines.

The event is sponsored by the Special Olympics Young Professionals Board, a group founded last year to raise money and create awareness of Special Olympics initiatives through events aimed at attracting area young professionals who might otherwise be unaware of the Special Olympics Program.

The Chili Brew Cookoff is the group's first event.

"We thought this might be a good way to get started, board president Tom Yang says.  "It's something we think will draw a big crowd so we're pretty excited."

Advance tickets are available for $15 by calling Brandon Tanner at (262) 241-7786, ext. 14. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $18 on the day of the event.

Special Olympics of Wisconsin provides year-round training and competition opportunities to more than 18,000 people in the state. Five state competitions and 80 different competitions are held annually in the state.