Meet the judges in the final Round 2 challenge

Chef Jean-Loius Clerc

French born and trained Jean-Louis Clerc joined the faculty of College of Dupage as executive chef at Waterleaf, the new student-staffed fine-dining restaurant at the new Culinary and Hospitality Center at the Glen Ellyn campus. During his tenure in France and England he worked in restaurants with two- and three-star Michelin ratings. He moved to the United States in 2000 to take a job as executive sous chef at Hotel Sofitel's O'Hare location and has overseen kitchens for employee dining at Harris Bank and Nuveen Investments.

Chef Thomas Leavitt

Chef Thomas Leavitt operates White Oak Gourmet Personal Chef Service with is wife, Lori. He received his culinary certification from Cooking Academy of Chicago in 1998 and has began his career at Patrick & James' in Glencoe working with chef Don Yamauchi. He opened White Oak Gourmet, which specializes in dinner parties, banquets and home meal service, in 2004. The company is devoted to healthy, from-scratch cooking and works with area farmers to bring organic and sustainably produced meat, dairy and vegetables to clients.

In his free time, Leavitt conducts cooking demonstrations at local schools as part of the First Lady's Chefs Move to Schools initiative and serves on board of the Spence Farm Foundation.

Beth Nielsen

Beth Nielsen, chief culinary officer at Nielsen-Massey Vanillas Inc., has directed the international company since returning to the family business in 2006. In early 2009, she was named Chief Culinary Officer, responsible for Nielsen-Massey's international operations, and the food service division including sales and recipe application research and development. Under her guidance, in celebration of the company's 100 year anniversary, the company self-published a cookbook, “A Century of Flavor.”

In line with her entrepreneurial spirit, love for food and avid support of the environment, she is active in several organic/local/sustainable environmental organizations and a member of the Organic Trade Association. She spends her free time playing and experimenting with Nielsen-Massey extracts and products in the kitchen and tending to her organic vegetable and herb garden.

Nick Stavely

Nick Stavely, Center of the Plate Product Specialist for Gordon Food Service, has worked in the food service industry for 12 years. He knows the industry inside and out having honed his skills in country clubs, upscale restaurants and luxury resorts, working his way up from dish washer to sales. Stavely worked as a corporate chef for a food broker, developing recipes, overseeing food photo shoots, and consulting with commercial operators. In his current role, Stavely concentrates his time on protein exploration with operators. His food philosophy is that you have to start with great ingredients to finish with a great plate. Thinking about every facet of the sourcing, preparing, and presentation of the food is what drives him to make the customer see something special, taste something special, and ultimately feel something special. Gordon Food Service carries the Trade East Citrus Grilling Seasoning used in the salmon challenge.