Get to know our 8 Cook of the Week Challenge semifinalists

If you saved the bracket graphic from the Aug. 28 Cook of the Week Challenge kick off, the Round 2 matchups won’t be a surprise. If you don’t have the bracket taped to your refrigerator, here’s how the contestants will line up. The dates listed are when their recipes will appear in the paper. The Final Four will be unveiled on Oct. 23.

Oct. 9

Jeff Zilch vs. Lori Wiktorek

Tina Garrett vs. Christine Murphy

Oct. 16

Dan Rich vs. Judy Monaco

Mike Baron vs. Lori Motyka

Mike Baron

What is your favorite kitchen tool? My favorite tool in my kitchen would have to be my 10-inch chef’s knife with my cocktail shaker a close second. As a Christmas present a few years back, my wife gave me a professional knife set with wood block. It was, and to this day, a great gift and one of my favorites; up until that point we kept our knives in a drawer which did nothing to preserve the cutting edge. It is really a pleasure to use a balanced knife with a sharp edge, it really makes the task at hand seem easier, I use it every time I cook. If I used the cocktail shaker this much I’m sure it would edge the knife out of the top spot.

What three things are always on your grocery list? Garlic, garlic and garlic. Being half Italian on my mother’s side and having a wife who is 100 percent Italian, it seems as if the aroma has always been in the air. We use quite a bit of it whether it’s in sauce, salad dressing, or just roasting it as a spread for bread. If I had to list a fourth I would have to go with ice cream.

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? My approach is really spur of the moment or taste driven. With both my wife and I working with lengthy commutes it’s hard to get something going on week nights. I will cook on the weekends with inspiration from a cooking magazine or cooking show.

What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate. Love it!

Tina Garrett

What is your favorite kitchen tool? My pressure cooker — I love that thing, although I haven’t used it yet for a recipe for this challenge, because I don’t think it is in enough households. But it is such a life and time saver!

What three things are always on your grocery list? Peppers, we use peppers in mostly everything, apples (we do pack two kids’ lunches a day) and broccoli. My kids love pasta with the broccoli; we have it weekly.

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? Yeah right, it is whatever I find that day to cook and whatever was on sale at the store that week.

What food is your guilty pleasure? Bacon, bacon, bacon. Wait! Flan. C’mon now, do I have to choose!

Judy Monaco

What is your favorite kitchen tool? My food processor. I use it to blend spices, make salad dressing and pesto, for blending ingredients for some desserts and to process leftover bread and rolls into bread crumbs.

What three things are always on your grocery list? Vegetables, fruits and broth (chicken, beef or vegetable).

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? Every Thursday I pull out six or seven cookbooks, along with my books with “stashed” recipes and decide what will be on the menu for the following week. I try to alternate the main ingredient in the recipes, i.e. chicken, meat, fish or vegetarian so we have a lot of variety. Once I decide which recipes to prepare, I compile a shopping list of ingredients that need to be purchased. I use a different color highlighter for each of the stores I shop at, plus a list for the butcher, and while it is open, the farmers market. The last step is typing of the menu and printing two copies. One copy is posted on the refrigerator so my husband just looks at the menu and knows what to expect each day. The second copy I file as a reference so when we have company I make sure I prepare something new.

What is your guilty pleasure? Cashews in one hand and dark chocolate in the other.

Lori Motyka

What is your favorite kitchen tool? A sharp knife because it makes absolutely everything you do easier. Good tools are key to any project.

What three things are always on your grocery list? Milk, eggs and bread.

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? I plan my weekly menu based upon what looks good at the market and then I plan each meal as the week progresses, usually on the train.

What is your guilty pleasure? Really good dark chocolate.

Christine Murphy

What is your favorite kitchen tool? I love using my antique glass citrus juicer since it’s easy to use and so pretty.

What three things are always on your grocery list? Feta cheese, Greek yogurt and a selection of mixed greens.

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? I like to use fresh vegetables and herbs picked from the garden. I enjoy shopping at different markets and my planning is a spur of the moment approach. I am inspired by recipes in magazines and pictures in cookbooks. I use the Internet to find ideas for recipes based on a few ingredients that I search.

What is your guilty pleasure? I love coconut gelato.

Dan Rich

What is your favorite kitchen tool and why? Ya gotta love the Kitchen Aid food processor and the Kitchen Aid stand mixer. They really do a great job of making short order of the kitchen work, and do so in a way that makes the food well prepared and consistent. Overall I would have to say my fave is a good, sharp kitchen knife and a decent cutting board. Less that, all is lost.

What three things are always on your grocery list? Chicken. Lotsa chicken. It’s versatile and really pretty good for you. Fresh veggies and fresh fruits. I love to kind of cook with the seasons, and make certain that a good amount of fresh seasonal fruits and veggies are in the house and are included in dinner preparation.

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? We often have a set menu. Plan on Sunday night being a chicken dish, usually baked or grilled. That makes Monday or Tuesday chicken taco or chicken enchilada night. One of the nights of the week is reserved for leftovers. Don’t count out homemade pizzas on Saturday nights. A couple of nights are “kids choice,” where one of the three has a desire for a specific dish. They love grilled veggies, lamb, turkey burgers, pasta dishes, fish and of course the occasional chef’s surprise. Soups in the winter time. If I’m lucky I can get them to give me a hand for a bit preparing the meal. Well, sometimes …

What food is your guilty pleasure? Easy. Peanut butter toast with a really good thinly sliced honey smoked turkey. I know it sounds awful, but after all, it is my guilty pleasure.

Lori Wiktorek

What is your favorite kitchen tool? My favorite kitchen tool is the electric mixer. I wish I had a Kitchen Aid mixer, but maybe some day. I use it for whipped mashed potatoes, mixing cake batter, frosting from scratch, and making fresh whipped cream (which is the best). Getting the mixer out usually means something really yummy is on its way.

What three things are your grocery list? Butter, bananas and onions.

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? I plan meals around whatever meats or seafood are on sale first, and they have to look good and be fresh. Sometimes I end up deciding to make pasta dishes, or something cheaper if the meat or seafood is too pricey for that week. I try to keep weeknight cooking simple since I don’t get home until around 7 p.m., and save the meals that require more preparation for the weekend. I love to stay home and cook on Sunday afternoons and try to have nice Sunday dinners.

What is your guilty pleasure? Lobster. I have a simple recipe a friend gave me for baking it and ever since I found great frozen lobster tails at Sam’s for about $20. I get to have it on my birthday, anniversary or New Year’s Eve at home.

Jeff Zilch

What is your favorite kitchen tool and why? I think that my favorite kitchen item seems to change with the seasons. This summer it was a mandolin for onions, cucumbers and tomatoes for salads and sandwiches. Come football season the smokers on the deck and the grill take over. But I will say that the value of a really sharp knife will always have a place in my heart. Or at least that is what my wife keeps telling me. If those don’t count then I will choose a bottle opener.

What three things are always on your grocery list? We are pretty boring when it comes to the grocery list. Bread, eggs, and fruits and veggies are the common items always on the list. Now the adventure begins when we are at the grocery store. We will grab the flyer and or head to the discounted meat section and start figuring out how we can eat like kings on an average family’s grocery budget. My wife once told me she never pays full price for shoes, I think the same rule should apply to meat.

Tell us about your approach to weekly cooking/menu planning? As I’ve mentioned, we shop on a budget so sometimes I buy things even when I don’t know when I’ll use it because I can’t pass on the great deal. On Sunday, I’ll make a couple chickens in the smoker or a pork shoulder and we’ll use those throughout the week in different dinners as well.

I play a game we call “freezer rodeo.” Whatever I round up and sounds good at the time, is what we have.

What food is your guilty pleasure? Venison Jalapeno Cheddar Sticks. I crave them and have been known to go weeks skipping dinner and defaulting to just eating venison. Sorry if you are reading this Doc but it is true.