Four finalists named for this year's live cook-off
The third time is the charm for Elk Grove Village's Jamie Andrade.
In her third appearance in the Cook of the Week Challenge Andrade, 29, and a mother of three, will be among the four finalists competing in a live cook-off Nov. 3. The winner will be crowned 2014 Cook of the Year.
Andrade grilled her way past Palatine's Joan Huenecke in the whole chicken/licorice extract/mango/almond matchup. Joining her behind the stoves will be Emily Geddes, 36, a mom and nurse from Geneva; Molly Sutton, a 50-something teaching assistant from Arlington Heights; and Juanita Harrell, 36, a librarian from Wheaton. Geddes's North African-spiced steak and potato-chip crusted eggplant edged out Denise Allen in the top round/eggplant/yogurt dip/potato chip tailgate challenge.
Today you'll find what the judges had to say about Sutton's Midwest Cassoulet and why it bumped David Rench's autumnal brunch trio out of the dance and why Harrell's gyros-inspired steak and fried snow peas topped Chris Crabtree's chia-stuffed pork chops.
Come Nov. 3, each of these ladies — and yes, this is the first time we've had four women in the Final Four — will have one hour in which to turn four mystery basket ingredients (to be revealed that evening) into a plated dish for a panel of five judges. As if that wasn't pressure enough, they'll be doing it in the crowded ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg as fellow foodies cheer them on.
Will you be in the crowd that evening? Tickets to the event, which also features cooking demonstrations by dessert diva Gale Gand and “MasterChef” contestants Suzy Singh (now research chef with Now Foods in Bloomingdale) and Tony Scruggs (chef with Old Crow smokehouse in Schaumburg), cost $20. Get yours at http://events.dailyherald.com/