Cook of the Week Challenge: Meet the final Round 2 judges

Chefs John Junior and Suzy Singh along with previous Cook of the Week Challenge winners Penny Kazmier and Michael Pennisi continue to sit on the judging panel for Round 2. They are joined this week by representatives from our sponsors.

John J. Engle: Engle, president and CEO of King Oscar, Inc., has been in the food industry for 28 years and built a solid reputation with his impassioned approach to product innovation and for his unwavering commitment to the development and execution of strategic business practices with an eye on long-term profitable sales growth. “Providing the consumer with premium-quality seafood is at the core of our success”, Engle states. He lives in San Diego, Calif. with his wife, Janet, and their two children.

Dan Marquardt: Marquardt, vice-president and co-owner of Marquardt of Barrington Buick-GMC, has been working at the family-owned dealership since before he could legally drive. He enjoys, fishing, hiking, cars, eating Twizzlers and spending time with his family, which is about to expand with another adopted child. He’s involved with the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce and his church, The Orchard in McHenry.

Karen Vidoni: Vidoni, senior account manager at American Slide Chart/Perrygraf, was raised in an Italian-American family where food was just one of many ways to demonstrate caring, concern and love. Like numerous women of her generation, her mother married young and was already a seasoned pro at hosting festive, food-centered family gatherings in her early 20s. Vidoni shares her mother’s love of good food, great recipes and fun family times. ASC/Perrygraf provided contestants slide charts with ingredient swaps for the healthy eating challenge that included sardines, fennel, golden raisins and chick peas.