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 an 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 Ala Carte Entertainment; 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