Cook of the Week Challenge: Meet the Round 2, Week 2 judges
For the final week we welcomed 2011 Cook of the Year runner-up Cate Brusenbach to the judging panel along with some representatives from our sponsors.
Patrick Beach: Professor Patrick J. Beach has been with Harper College in Palatine for more than two decades and currently heads the Hospitality Management program. He teaches culinary arts, restaurant and hotel operations, finance and risk management. Before coming to the college he built a long career in restaurant operations in the Detroit market, serving as a cook, chef, manager and operator at various restaurants and country clubs. Beach is a longtime officer and current past president of the Northern Illinois Food Service Executive’s Association and past chairman of the International Food Service Executives Association’s national organization. He lives in Palatine.
Katie Bloomfield: Katie Bloomfield is the ranch manager for Q7 Ranch Grass-fed Beef and owner of Mother Hen Poultry, both in Marengo. She is also the mother of two young boys who keep her very busy. She doesn’t have much time to cook herself, but admittedly, loves to eat good food.
Cate Brusenbach: Cate Brusenbach is an accomplished home cook now living in Antioch. She was the runner up in the 2011 Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge after turning in a stunning Pork Tenderloin Rondele with Carrot Ginger Puree at the final cook-off. She won the turkey/quinoa battle and the halibut/ramen noodle matchup in the 2011 contest.
Ying Stoller: Ying Stoller is an Asian cooking instructor, cookbook author and food entrepreneur. She has been teaching Asian cooking for the last decade at local community colleges and festivals and at cooking schools and library programs throughout the Midwest.
Her own brand of Asian sauces, bottled under the Ying’s Kitchen label, are low in sodium and contain no high fructose corn syrup or monosodium glutamate. Look for them at independent grocery stores throughout the suburbs and online at yingskitchen.com.