Celebrity Chef/Judge Profile
Kari Karch
Kari Karch is a nineteen-year veteran of the culinary industry and the head chef for the Kenmore brand. Kari's cookbook, the Kenmore 100 Year Anniversary Cookbook will be launched in October of 2013.
Kari is the face and voice of the Kenmore brand. As their chief content creator, Kari writes recipes and stars in Kenmore's culinary how-to videos. She is the administrator for Kenmore's social media outlets including Cookmore.com as well as the emcee and host for all Kenmore sponsored events.
Kari is also the culinary consultant for Suite Partners, a production and social media advertising company in Chicago, IL.
After graduating from the Illinois Institute of Art, Kari opened her own company called Kiss the Cook, specializing in the education of fine cuisine. She was also a consulting chef for Athena restaurant in Chicago's Greektown. In 2011, during a televised culinary showdown versus ABC Home Makeover's Ty Pennington, Kari found her love for on-air cooking and soon became the head chef and spokesperson for the Kenmore brand.
Notable events and appearances include Fleet Week New York with Bobby Deen, The Best Sandwich in Chicago Competition with co-host Adam Richman, Duff Goldman and Godiva Chocolatiers xxxx, The Next Food Network's Jeff Mauro, Support Our Troops with Sunny Anderson, Share Our Strength with Melissa D' Arabian, McDonald's Best of the Best Fry Challenge with Chicago Bears players Robbie Gould and Earl Bennett, Cooking with Friends' Nick Stellino, and the Cooking Channel's Eden Grinshpan. Kari has also appeared on the Cooking Channel's hit show "From the Kitchen's Of," featuring host Brigitte Nguyen, ABC Morning News, WGN, Wine Channel TV, and The New York Blogger Summit.
Kari was born in San Antonio, Texas where her father was a First Master Sergeant in the Army. Her culinary interests peaked early in childhood while being introduced to different cultures and their unique culinary essence. Her family traveled the world exposing Kari to a variety of cultures and culinary cuisines. Eventually her family was stationed in Austria and Germany. Speaking fluent German, Kari translated for her parents and accompanied them to fine events and parties, finding a love of cuisine along the way. An experience worth more than words can say, it set her on a path of lifelong learning in the art of worldly cuisine. More recently, Kari has been spending her time helping children with dietary restrictions find a renewed love for food. Her involvement in the community and the "foodie" world is an evolving effort to educate children and adults in healthy eating habits.