2015's Cook of the Year offers advice to this year's contestants
Listen up, aspiring Cook of the Week Challenge contestants: if you don't know how to prepare a scrumptious meal in less than an hour or need to learn how to work with more unusual ingredients, then start boning up now because you'll likely need those skills for this year's competition.
That advice comes courtesy of 2015 Cook of the Week Challenge winner Bill Hicks, 71, of Carpentersville, whose finale dish of monkfish poached in butter served on a bed of beans, peppers and onions sauteed with bacon and paired with a skhug cream sauce won over the judges during the live cook-off.
“This was a high achievement for me,” says Hicks, who's retired from jobs as a commercial real estate broker and a high school and college teacher. As such, he adds, “I decided to quit while I was ahead” and not try to parlay his newfound fame into additional ventures such as reality cooking shows or opening a restaurant.
But he's still more than happy to share his tips for success for the final cook-off when contenders are provided with mystery ingredients, a cook station and one hour to make the magic happen.
Because of the limitations, he suggests that cooks should be prepared to whip up a relatively quick dish of fish, chicken or meat that can be made in an hour, likely in a frying pan. So “if you don't make fish, focus on making sure you've got a good fish recipe,” he says.
Another recommendation, he says, is to focus on the flavors, not the look. “Presentation should really be secondary,” Hicks says. “It might look good, but if your food tastes bad, you're still going to lose,” he says.
Since his victory, Hicks has continued to experiment with new recipes, with both successes and failures. He recently made a curried shrimp dish that he deemed a winner, though the elk he roasted was a dud. “It was dry as hell,” he admits. “It was terrible. Nobody ate much of it.”
But he says even a bomb can be instructional. “It's OK to fail,” he says. “If you don't, you're probably not being very experimental in the way you cook.”
Hicks says he's pleased that his victory spurred on his three adult children to expand their repertoires. “They're doing more experimenting with their meals,” he says. “They get creative with their recipes.”
At home, his wife, Ami, takes turns making meals, but he's the main chef, he says, with all the bragging rights he's earned. “Whenever we have a disagreement in the kitchen, I remind her I was Cook of the Week,” he says with a laugh.
He also enjoys cooking for friends eager to sample some of his award-worthy meals. “I seldom get turned down for a dinner invitation,” Hicks says.
One downside to winning, though, is that friends are so worried they won't make a worthy dish that, “We seldom get invited because people are intimidated.”
He'd like to ease their minds, though. “Invite me to dinner,” he says. “I won't be critical.”
<i>This year's Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge is underway. Submit your application at http://events.dailyherald.com/cook-of-the-week/. Deadline to apply is July 25.</i>