Cook of the Week Challenge: Four finalists ready for cook-off finale
They survived oddities like licorice extract and lentils and unknowns like watercress and chia seeds — things waay scarier than zombies and last-minute campaign robocalls. Now, just one more mystery basket stands between four women and the title Daily Herald Cook of the Year 2014.
This week instead of worrying if they will run out of KitKats before the last trick-or-treater knocks, Jamie Andrade, Emily Geddes, Juanita Harrell and Molly Sutton are preoccupied with food on a whole other level.
Andrade of Elk Grove Village, Geddes of Geneva, Harrell of Wheaton and Sutton of Arlington Heights, will compete in the Cook of the Week Challenge finale, a four-way cook-off Monday night at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg. These ladies, who made it through two previous rounds of recipe matchups against 12 other suburban home cooks, will have one hour to prepare and plate an entree using four mystery ingredients and a common pantry. They have the added pressure of cooking in front of hundreds of fellow food enthusiasts and presenting their dishes to a panel of judges including celebrity chef and author Gale Gand, 2013 Cook of the Year Dan Rich and Hyatt executive chef John Junior.
I grabbed them for a few minutes and asked them to reflect on the contest so far and how they're preparing for the final showdown.
Jamie Andrade
“I'm thrilled! I can't wait to compete. I did joke with my husband that I'll probably open the basket and spend the whole hour staring at it in a panic, but I'm excited and I'm ready!”
What did you learn about yourself as a cook during the challenge? I cook better when I don't think about it. In the second challenge, I planned and tried two or three different recipes and nothing came out right. When I got in the kitchen (a mere 12 hours before the recipe was due) and just grabbed ingredients and cooked, everything worked.
Did the Challenge introduce you to new ingredients that you think you might add to your pantry? I've had a big aversion to blue cheese for most of my life, I've just recently started to enjoy it and I think I may actually buy some and try and throw it in some dishes.
Are there any mystery baskets you're glad you avoided? The hot dog! They're good at a ballgame or a cook out, but very hard to transform into something else.
How are you preparing for the cook-off? We have a giant professional cooking book, I think it's a course book for Le Cordon Bleu; my husband told me to read it cover to cover. I'm not going that far, but will probably tune into the Food Network and see what kind of seasonal things they have going on.
What will be your strength in the competition kitchen? With my tornado of little ones at home (ages 5, 6 and 7), I'm very used to cooking amid chaos. I probably won't even realize there's a room full of people.
Emily Geddes
“I am so excited about making it to the Final Four, of course! It has kind of made me giddy. As an adult you don't have many personal challenges and surprises to just get joyful and happily nervous about. This is it for me.”
What did you learn about yourself as a cook during the challenge? As a stay-at-home mom, my competitive streak doesn't get tapped into very often. But during the challenge, I became more and more determined to continue. If it was a yoga-a-thon or a gardening challenge — both things I like to do — I still don't think I would have became so excited by it. It is just the food. I have this obsession with creating new food ideas and executing them, it is what helps me fall asleep at night. Also advancing in the challenge has given me confidence in what I make. My food can be appreciated outside my family's kitchen.
Did the Challenge introduce you to new ingredients that you think you might add to your pantry? While I have used other whole grains in the past, I have never worked with pearl barley before. It was really adaptable and I have found myself digging back into the huge bag I bought for the contest- adding it to quinoa salad, throwing it into a stew I made.
Are there any mystery baskets you're glad you avoided? Hot dogs. Oh, when I read that ingredient I felt for those cooks. It would take a lot of thought as how to incorporate that. I'm still trying to think of what I would have done. I thought the frittata idea was pure genius.
How are you preparing for the cook-off? I have been watching more cooking television, but it is strange because it helps relax me. I am going through old Cooks' Illustrated and Gourmet magazines to get inspired. This is also reminding me how to work with ingredients I don't use very often or have never used before.
What will be your strength in the competition kitchen? My strength in the kitchen will be my flexibility. I rarely cook with recipes. And I pretty much never prepare a recipe exactly as written. I know what I like. I know how foods are “supposed” to be prepared. I am finding myself in that gray space out there in between traditional recipes and classic home cooking. And then rolling with the punches. I also perform well under stress.
Juanita Harrell
“When I first got the call I was thinking maybe this is the call to tell me that I didn't make it. When I realized that I was being told that I did make it my hand started to shake. Honestly even right now I can admit that it all hasn't quite sunk in yet. One of the hardest things was waiting to tell people that I made it to the Final Four.”
What did you learn about yourself as a cook during the challenge? I learned that old fashioned brainstorming with a pen and paper still work well for me.
Did the Challenge introduce you to new ingredients that you think you might add to your pantry? I have always talked about buying or using mascarpone cheese and never had until the contest. I would like to and will use mascarpone in more of my dishes. I also had never tried or cooked lentils before and am going to definitely add them to my pantry.
Are there any mystery baskets you're glad you avoided? Although all of the baskets seemed challenging I would have to say the basket containing cellophane noodles, carrots, anchovies and fresh mint is the one that I'm glad I did not get. The cellophane noodles are just something that I have not worked with. The mint and anchovies both have such strong and distinctive flavors that working with them in the same dish would be challenging.
How are you preparing for the cook-off? I have been and will continue to watch cooking shows. I have to admit that I'll be paying a little more attention than usual when I'm watching now.
What will be your strength in the competition kitchen? I am creative and I am able to make decisions quickly when I'm under pressure.
Molly Sutton
“I'm honored and excited to have this opportunity with three talented women.”
What did you learn about yourself as a cook during the challenge? I learned to express my creativity and to keep it focused and simple.
Did the Challenge introduce you to new ingredients? I like the artisanal products that have a regional focus.
Are there any mystery baskets you're glad you avoided? Why? I'm glad I avoided the licorice extract, although my husband would have loved it.
How are you preparing for the cook-off? I try to read local cooking news and always I'm gathering new ideas.
What will be your strength in the competition kitchen? My strength is flexibility and organization — skills I use every day in a middle school!
Cook of the Week Challenge Finale
When: 6:30 to 9 p.m. Nov. 3
Where: Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, 1800 E. Golf Road, Schaumburg
Tickets: $20. Includes two drink tickets, appetizers and samples and a goody bag
Order tickets at <a href="http://events.dailyherald.com/Daily_Herald_Events/cook-challenge.html">http://events.dailyherald.com</a>