Judges

Elizabeth founded Citizen Cake, as a retail bakery South of Market in 1997. Citizen Cake was an immediate hit, and after a few years, she moved it to Hayes Valley, in May of 2000, and expanded it into an elegant restaurant, bar, and patisserie. Citizen Cake helped spearhead the development of Hayes Valley into a citywide destination for fine dining, shopping, and socializing. Citizen Cake was awarded recommendation by Michelin in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and has scooped up numerous awards from both local and national media.

In 2010, Citizen Cake relocated and opened on Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, San Francisco and in 2011, Elizabeth renamed it Elizabeth Falkner's Citizen Cake and Ice Cream Parlor.

Elizabeth is also the chef/partner of Orson restaurant and bar, which opened in 2008 in an old steel foundry warehouse in the South of Market district of San Francisco. "At Orson, I love to take classic or iconic dishes from around the world and remodel them often with little surprises. Orson is my dream restaurant with a gorgeous bar and dining room, great sound system and a fantastic kitchen to cook in." Orson has also been awarded recommendation by Michelin since 2008 and has been featured in many local and national media.

Elizabeth has also been spokesperson for SCHARFFEN BERGER chocolate since 2008 and has consulted for numerous products and brands such as Barilla/Molino Bianco, Starbucks, Hershey, General Mills, Nestle, Nabisco, Pepsi and more.

Throughout her career, Falkner has been both a leader and a mentor to many other chefs, working closely with Les Dames d'Escoffier and Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR), who awarded her their Golden Bowl for Pastry in 2003. She has been named the city's "Best Pastry Chef" by San Francisco magazine and a Rising Star Chef by the San Francisco Chronicle. Bon Appetit magazine hailed her as one of America's 10 top pastry chefs in 2003, and named her Pastry Chef of the Year in 2006. In 2005, she was nominated for the pastry chef of the year award by the James Beard Foundation and has been a featured guest chef for JBF hosting dinners for the foundation. Elizabeth currently serves on the board of directors of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.

Demolition Desserts, her first cookbook, was published by Ten Speed Press in 2007. Using vivid manga-inspired graphics, Demolition Desserts lays out the elements of Falkner's multi-part contemporary desserts to make even the most inventive combinations easily accessible to home chefs. Demolition Desserts was a finalist for IACP's Julia Child, Best First Cookbook award in 2008 and was selected "favorite book", by the students of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, also in 2008.

Cooking Off the Clock, her second book, will be released in fall of 2012 and is also published by Ten Speed Press.

A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute with a particular interest in film, Falkner often finds culinary inspiration in film, art, music, and sculpture. « Show Less

Medrich opened her renowned dessert company, Cocolat in Berkeley, California in l976 to national acclaim. The New York Times recognized Alice for creative leadership and Gourmet Magazine said, "Cocolat is to chocolate what Tiffany's is to diamonds". Alice sold Cocolat in 1990, but continues to influence chefs, chocolate makers, and home cooks, by writing, teaching and consulting. She appeared in the Food Network's "Chef de Jour" and "Baker's Dozen" series and with Julia Child in the PBS series. Alice's latest book, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, won the 2011 International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award in the baking category. Her next book, Totally Easy Sinfully Delicious Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Desserts, will be published next spring. « Show Less

As a professional food photographer, his work as appeared in the pages of Bon Appetit, Time Magazine, Coastal Living and online at Martha Stewart and Food Network, as well as a variety of editorial and advertising assignments. He recently photographed a new global campaign for Coca Cola and the 2012 Olympics, coming out next year.

His first cookbook, On A Stick!, was released in May of this year. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner Adam Pearson, a food stylist. You can find Matt online at www.mattbites.com, on twitter at @mattarmendariz and see his portfolio at www.mattarmendariz.com. « Show Less

Before plunging into the tech world, Babette spent more than a decade directing and producing reality TV programs including MTV's "The Real World" and "Road Rules." In between gigs, she enrolled in a cake decorating class to "feed her soul," and she loved every minute. But when the class was over she was disappointed to find so few opportunities for home cooks to connect and swap recipes in real time, and thus was inspiration for www.BakeSpace.com. Today, the site has more than 50,000 recipes from members in nearly 170 countries. It has also earned multiple Webby Award honors, including back-to-back nominations in the ultra-competitive "Best Social Network" category.

Babette is a recurring guest expert on Fox Business Channel and has earned numerous honors for innovation and leadership, including the PepsiCo "Women's Inspiration Award" and Girls in Tech "Top 5 Female Founders." To find out more, visit www.BakeSpace.com. « Show Less