Cook of the Week Challenge Round 2: New matchups look to be fierce

Welcome to Round 2 of the 2016 Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge.

The cooks moving forward to new matchups are Christina Anderson-Heller of Wood Dale, Craig Brannan of Lake Villa, Daniel Imburgia of Elk Grove Village, Michael Ek of Bartlett, John Hampson of Antioch, Teresa Fiocchi of Mundelein, Greg Zielinski of Arlington Heights and Martha Garmon of Palatine.

These eight competitors faced creative and intrepid home cooks like themselves in Round 1's eight matchups. I'm glad I'm just organizing and not a judge in this contest because, clearly, the judges had some tough choices to make.

With round 2 underway, we'll publish recipes and thoughts from four of our semifinalists Oct. 12. Some of the entries are in. If these recipes are any indication, the competition is fierce, and the cooks are lighting a fire under their A games.

Next week you can read what cooks in Challenge 9 make with Absolut Vodka, courtesy of Morretti's Ristorante and Pizzeria; celery root, courtesy of the Westin Chicago Northwest; Cornish game hens and farro. Cooks in Challenge 10 are working on dishes incorporating baba ghanouj, courtesy of Grecian Delight; corn tortillas, courtesy of Valli Foods; lamb chops and bell peppers.

On Oct. 19, you'll read what cooks in Challenges 11 and 12 come up with using their own secret ingredients.

Then, the final four will be revealed Oct. 26. These four will compete in a live cook-off Nov. 1 at the Westin Chicago Northwest in Itasca.

The victor will receive a prize package worth more than $1,500. A few of the items included in the package are a seating at the Chef's Table at Seasons 52, a Bosch dishwasher courtesy of Novak & Parker/Thermador and cooking gadgets and tools all valued at $1,500. The winner will own bragging rights, a giant spoon trophy and the title of 2016 Daily Herald Cook of the Year.

And as the Cook of the Week Challenge finale nears, we'll share more highlights of the event - including which celebrity chefs will be doing demonstrations, some of the raffle prizes and more.

You'll need tickets if you want to be part of the audience for the cook-off, as well as a chance to meet, greet and sample the best from challenge sponsors. Buy tickets at events.dailyherald.com/cook-of-the-week. For each $20 ticket sold, $5 will go to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Be sure to get your tickets soon; this event has sold out each year.

Our eight remaining cooks aren't the only ones vying for prizes. Check out Cook of the Week 2016 coverage at dailyherald.com to look over each week's recipe entries. To vote for your favorite, visit dailyherald.com/contests/cowcfanfavorite. Each week we randomly draw the name of a voter to win such prizes as dining cards, products from our sponsors, cookbooks and grocery gift certificates.

For full contest coverage, visit www.dailyherald.com/lifestyle/food/cook-of-the-week-challenge/ or like us on Facebook/CookoftheWeek.