Featured Judge: Carmen Cenko

Acclaimed actress Carmen Cenko brings her talent to a wide range of performances in film, television and stage productions in both Spanish and English, including “Buscando a Leti,” and “ER,” with actors including Bernie Mac and Michael Keaton. Now, she will bring her talent to judging the Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest.

“I’m very excited, and very happy to hear that there’s an organization concerned about nutrition for young children,” she said. “I also like to hear that young students are being introduced to the culinary arts, because it really is an art. This is not just about making food – it’s about taking time to make the food healthy, taking time to make it attractive.”

As someone who is conscious of her health, Carmen said that she’ll be looking for dishes that are “light, attractive and tasty.”

“As long as it tastes good and is good for you, I’ll eat it,” she said. “Mexican food, Middle Eastern food, Italian food – I can’t say which is my favorite! I look for variety, including vegetables and light sauces. All types of food are wonderful if they’re light, they taste good and they are presented in a way that's attractive.”

Featured Judge: Chef Monique Jamet Hooker

Best described as a culinary pioneer, Monique Jamet Hooker is a chef, teacher and author with a lifelong enthusiasm for food and travel. Trained in Europe, she worked alongside celebrated chefs in New York until she moved to Chicago in the 1970s, where she operated a successful cooking school, catering company, and restaurant. Monique wrote an Award-winning book, Cooking With The Seasons, A Year In My Kitchen, and hosted a TV Show called "The Seasonal Kitchen." Currently, she lives in western Wisconsin and travels widely to lecture and teach.

Monique was closely involved with culinary education in the Chicago Public Schools when she lived in the city, volunteering as a chef educator and mentor at schools throughout the city, especially in the Englewood community.

"This is something that's been close to my heart all these years," she said of engaging with CPS culinary students in her role as a judge of the healthy cooking contest. "It's important for us to share our experiences because it's important for young people to realize that everyone who's succeeded had some difficulty along the way."

Raised in a "very poor family, just struggling out of World War II," in France, Monique trained and began work as a chef during a time when, she said, "it was not a woman's place to be in a professional kitchen."

"We've all been at this point in our lives where we had to overcome circumstances and someone did something to help us," she said. "And there's a moment when it's time for us to give back."

In judging the contest, she'll focus on the students' dedication, attitude and presentation as well as their recipes. "The fact that they are entering the contest means they are successful," she said. "They've built a platform, and now they need to stand on it. This is a building block for them. The recipe is only part of it."

Monique Hooker's participation in Cooking up Change is made possible by Organic Valley.

Featured Judge: Clifford Rome of Parkway Ballroom and Rome's Joy

Clifford Rome is President of Parkway Ballroom and Rome’s Joy Catering. Over the past fourteen years, Chef Rome has perfected the art of fine dining through his work with Wolfgang Puck of Spago and other internationally renowned chefs. His menu, appetizing and entertaining, reflects his global travels; his eclectic American and Caribbean fare deliciously reveals subtle European and Asian influences.

Chef Rome has been recognized as a talented chef by local, national and international media. From 1998 through 2003, Chef Rome was one of five chefs working at the Cannes International Film Festival’s American Pavilion—alongside master chefs Roger Verge, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali and Todd English. Chef Rome is currently the Food Editor for Brides Noir magazine, has made frequent appearances on Chicago morning news programs and has been featured in the Chicago Sun-Times and The Washington Post.