Buttering up the judges at Cook of the Week Challenge finale

Bill Hicks jokes that everything is better with butter, and that proved to be true in the Cook of the Week Challenge finale.

After preparing monkfish poached in butter Monday night, Hicks, of Carpentersville, was crowned the winner of the fifth annual Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge during a live cook-off at the Westin Chicago Northwest in Itasca.

Hicks and the three other finalists - Kim Bradley of Glen Ellyn, Marie Bass of Mount Prospect and Chelsea La Valle of Deer Park - were given one hour to make a dish using the mystery ingredients: monkfish from Don's Dock, walnuts from Fisher Nuts, Great Northern beans and spicy Middle Eastern skhug sauce from Grecian Delight.

Hicks' fish was served on a bed of beans, peppers and onions sauteed with bacon and paired with a skhug cream sauce. He also prepared a mixed green salad with toasted walnuts and pear and citrus vinaigrette.

The cook-off was the main event of a night that also included cooking demonstrations, local vendors handing out free samples, food, drinks, raffles and goody bags. Many of the home cooks who competed throughout the Sweet 16-style contest were on hand to be recognized and to cheer on the final four.

The challenge drew more than 500 spectators, making it the biggest finale in the competition's history.