Penny Parker On The Town: Former Colorado professional athletes show their wedded ways

Wedding bells have been ringing overtime lately for two professional athletes who played for Colorado teams.

First player to the altar was Mitch Berger, former Broncos kicker and CU Boulder star athlete who married swimsuit model Bambi Lashell on July 13 in Vancouver, British Columbia. On Saturday, former Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles scored the winning goal by wedding Erin Johnson in Vail.

Berger found his way to wedded bliss after Bravo TV’s “Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger scored a touchdown for her team when she introduced the 16-year NFL punter to Lashell on Stanger’s show in March.

The twosome’s first date — horseback riding followed by Berger cooking Lashell dinner — was the spark that ignited the relationship. Stanger even mentioned the successful match last week on Andy Cohen‘s “Watch What Happens Live” (guess who was watching and taking notes?).

Stanger’s blog on March 12 said this about her millionaire client who parlayed his NFL career into a career as a venture capitalist in Canada: “(Berger’s) been on the road for so many years that he didn’t really have time to grow up and have an actual mature, evolved relationship. We call that the Peter Pan syndrome. He settled down in Vancouver, and now he’s ready for love, marriage and lots of babies.”

Mitch Berger and his bride, Bambi Lashell, at their July 13 wedding. The couple met on “Millionaire Matchmaker,” the Bravo Network series that stars matchmaker Patti Stanger. (Photo courtesy of Mitch Berger’s Twitter account)

Mitch Berger talks to Patti Stanger during his appearance on “Millionaire Matchmaker.” The episode, in which Berger met his eventual wife, Bambi Lashell, originally aired on Bravo in March. (Bravo Network photo)

The Super Bowl-winning groom (playing for the victorious Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009) tweeted on his wedding day: “So happy that I married @BambiLashell the love of my life! pic.twitter.com/wzYLPrvXA5.” Some wedding photos of the happy couple also are posted on his Twitter account @mitchberger17.

Berger’s lengthy football career – which took him to several different teams – ended after he signed with the Broncos during the last 10 games of the 2009 season and he retired in 2010.

Liles, who was a popular figure on and off the ice when he played for the Avalanche starting in 2003, was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011.

Several of his former teammates – including Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene – attended the nuptials. For a picture of the couple – sandwiched between Maple Leafs teammate Tyler Bozak, check out http://bluetoro.ca/tag/john-michael-liles-girlfriend/.

John-Michael Liles, center, poses with his former Colorado Avalanche teammates, Paul Stastny, left, and Matt Duchene at Liles’  wedding last weekend in Vail. (Photo courtesy of Matt Duchene’s Twitter account)

Supermarket showdown

The Food Network is holding a nationwide search for chefs and professional cooks for a chance to win up to $20,000 in a new television series.

Producers are looking for highly skilled chefs and professional cooks from all backgrounds and without regard to a particular style of cooking.

Whether you are an executive chef, sous chef, private chef or caterer and think you have the chops to slice and dice the competition, you may qualify.

This new series — from the producer’s of Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race” — will put talented chefs and professional cooks to the test in a supermarket-themed showdown. To navigate the aisles of this high-pressure competition, you’re going to need clever cooking solutions as supermarket savvy.

To apply, send an e-mail to grocerygames@rrstaff.com. Include your city and state in the subject line, and in the body of the e-mail include your name, phone number, photo, current occupation, a description of your culinary background and why you think you have what it takes to win.

Wing ding

Quaker Steak & Lube in Westminster, the wing fling home of flappers in 20 different sauces, celebrates National Chicken Wing Day with 55-cent wings all day on July 29.

The Westminster store — a festive spot with race cars suspended from the ceilings and motorcycles, Corvettes and gas station memorabilia — is located at 10392 Reed St., and is open on July 29 from 11 a.m. till midnight.

Quaker Steak boasts two of the world’s hottest wing sauces: the Atomic and the Triple Atomic weighing in at 150,000 Scoville Heat Units and 500,000 SHU respectively. The chain operates nearly 60 locations.

More information: www.quakersteakandlube.com. Follow the Westminster restaurant on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/pages/Quaker-Steak-Lube-Westminster-CO/137501156289209.

The heat is on

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire is a cigar dinner and barbecue benefit for The Friends of Denver Fire Department, beginning at 5:30 Wednesday at 1350 Shoshone.

Participants will receive two cigars, beer and cocktails, a barbecue dinner and two tickets for a prize drawing. You can meet Denver Fire Department Chief Eric Tade while munching down barbecue, quaffing a cocktail and puffing on a cigar. Tickets are $110.

The mission of the Friends of the Denver Fire Department is to support Denver’s Fire Department by providing public education, through efforts to improve firefighter safety and quality of life by furnishing direct resources to meet fire fighter needs thereby improving public safety in the City and County of Denver. Please visit www.fdfd.org for more information and to register for the dinner.

Table 6 talk: Scott not

After more than 10 years as head honcho of Table 6’s kitchen, executive chef Scott Parker is leaving the neighborhood eatery at Sixth and Corona to take over as chef at the under construction Breckenridge-Wynkoop concept in the old Izakaya Den space on South Pearl.

Carrie Shores, who has been sous chef at Table 6 the past six years. will take over Parker’s position on Aug. 5.

“We are so thankful for Scott’s run at Table 6 and wish him nothing but the best,” said owner Aaron Forman. “He’s been an integral part of Table 6, and we owe much of our success to the creativity and eccentricity of his menu.”

Shores is a Denver native who worked at San Francisco’s famed restaurant A16 before joining T6.

Eavesdropping on a girl to her ex-boyfriend at Starbucks: “I tweeted you, IM’d you, Facebooked you, Texted you, called you, e-mailed you, and for God’s sake, I even wrote you a letter, put a stamp on it and mailed it to you. If you didn’t ever want to see me again, why didn’t you just say so?”

“Look, I like you, but we just don’t communicate well.”

Did you hear that I have a new column, “Mile High Life,” in Colorado Community Media’s 17 weekly newspapers circling Denver? Be sure to like my Facebook page! Also, here’s where you go to get my column emailed to you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’m now the social-media liaison for the Mile High Chapter of the Colorado Restaurant Association, so read my latest restaurant news there. My email: penny@blacktie-llc.com.