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Deadline extended to Aug. 3 for Cook of the Week Challenge

We know it's been one crazy summer.

Between record-breaking heat and power outages and packing for and unpacking from vacations, I can't blame you for not wanting to head into the kitchen.

That's why the Daily Herald has extended the deadline to apply for our second annual Cook of the Week Challenge until noon Friday, Aug. 3.

We've already heard from some great cooks, but I know there are more out there. I'm hoping the cooler (comparatively) temperatures and calmer weather will encourage more of you to take the chance to be among the 16 cooks who will compete for the title Cook of the Year.

The contest starts with 16 home cooks who will compete in one-on-one recipe challenges. Each set of cooks will be given the same “secret ingredients” to work with and a $25 gift card to Whole Foods Market where they can purchase other ingredients. The cooks then have about a week to develop and submit the recipe to a panel of judges. Daily Herald photographers will document each of the contestants' finished recipes.

Chef Spencer Wolff, the new executive chef at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, and chef Jean-Louis Clerc, from College of DuPage's Waterleaf restaurant, are on the judging panel, as are representatives from other contest sponsors, including Whole Foods and Holland House.

If you checked out last year's recipes, I don't blame you if you were intimidated — some of the recipes intimidated me with their intricate prep and techniques. My hope this year is to guide the cooks toward recipes that don't take several hours to get to the table.

The eight cooks who win the first recipe round will be paired for another one-on-one recipe challenge. The four second-round winners will head to the finals — a live cook-off Nov. 1 at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg.

For a chance to put your culinary creativity to the test, fill out an entry form and submit an original recipe at surveymonkey.com/s/cookoftheweek.

Then watch your email. I'll start contacting finalists over the weekend.

Still have questions? Email me at cookoftheweek@dailyherald.com.

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