Boca Burger Battle 2023 Judges

MEET OUR "GRILL MASTER JUDGES"

WiLD 95.5 Carmine Gialanella

"Meet Grill Master Judge Carmine Gialanella, who was born and raised in New York but now fully considers himself a Floridian. Living and breathing everything that is the South Florida Lifestyle. He's been entertaining on the airwaves of WiLD 95.5 for the last decade and keeps you company on your ride to work with his show “Carmine & Maegan In The Morning”. When he's not on air he's trying his luck at Hardrock Casino Hollywood or traveling with his better-half, Tyla. Carmine considers himself a burger connoisseur, and couldn't be more excited to judge the best burgers in South Florida!

WiLD 95.5 | Web

CBS News 12 Sam Kerrigan

Meet Grill Master Judge Sam Kerrigan is the morning co-anchor of CBS12 News. Before that, you knew her best as “Traffic Jam Sam,” where, for 6 years of her career, she was not only in studio doing her morning traffic reports, but out on the roads in the CBS12 “Traffic Tracker”. Having grown up in South Florida, Sam is very active in the community and loves to support those who make it a better place for all of us to live. Every Monday she features someone making a difference in the community in her “Hometown Heroes” segment. She also recently started writing a similar “Heroes” column for local lifestyle magazine – Palm Beach Illustrated. Sam graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. In her spare time, Sam loves to stay active, attend local sporting events, spend time with family and friends and travel the world!

CBS News 12 | Web

Pero Family Farms Food Company Scott Seddon

Meet Grill Master Judge Chef Scott Seddon. Seddon's culinary career started early when at the age of eight years old, his mother encouraged his passion for cooking by allowing him to create his own recipes. She supported his shopping for ingredients and instilled a work ethic that is still present to this day by conditioning his culinary exploration. Scott's first cooking job came at the age of thirteen when Father Gabriel at Our Lady of Florida Monastery in North Palm Beach needed a sous-chef for weekend retreatants. After cooking 2,000 pancakes in the morning, huge roasts, meatloaves, lots of potatoes, and vegetables for lunch and dinner, becoming head chef in a restaurant kitchen was a natural progression.

A formal college experience at Palm Beach State College and FAU did nothing to deter Chef Seddon's interest in the culinary arts, and so he embarked on a lifelong mission to learn new techniques and flavor profiles from chefs and cooks alike from around the world. Soon, an interest in heart-healthy cuisine, sushi, Caribbean fusion, and catering emerged. Travel fueled the fire with stints at The Navigator restaurant in Martha's Vineyard and The Lazy Parrot restaurant in Rincon, Puerto Rico. While in Puerto Rico, he trained with the University of Puerto Rico Aguadilla Campus and the Tourism and Hotel Association's Culinary Arts Program.

Seddon's focus on heart-healthy cuisine and marketing made it a smooth transition to a career as Corporate Chef and Brand Manager for Pero Family Farms. Over the last 18 years, Seddon has focused on new product development, sustainability initiatives, packaging, recipe ideation, and social media content creation. Currently, Pero Family Farms has the number one brand of mini sweet peppers and green beans nationwide. While no longer running a commercial kitchen every single night, his recipes and brand building have helped entice millions of people to eat healthy with exciting flavors and convenience.

Chef Seddon is an active member of the Palm Beach County American Culinary Federation, working with the top chefs in South Florida on continuing education and charitable projects in the community. He enjoys mentoring at many local schools, teaching culinary students about incorporating Pero Family Farms' fresh vegetables into easy-to-make recipes. Seddon is the owner of a casual hot sauce company, Rincon Heat Sauce Co. LLC, and operates a catering business for select clients. He has been married to his wife Elizabeth for sixteen years, and their thirteen-year-old daughter enjoys cooking with her dad. In his downtime, he enjoys surfing, spearfishing, and travel.

Pero Family Farms | Web


American Culinary Federation Palm Beach County Vicki Corrao

Meet Grill Master Judge Vicki Corrao, also known as The Countess de la Pasta, she is a former owner of three Italian restaurants on Mulberry St in N.Y.C.'s Little Italy. She has judged numerous events for Cordon Bleu and Johnson & Wales. Vicki is presently retired...aka hobbying and sits on the board for Palm Beach American Culinary Federation.

American Culinary Federation - Palm Beach | Web

Palm Beach County Robert Weinroth

Meet Grill Master Judge Robert Weinroth, elected to the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners representing District 4 in 2018 and served as mayor. He is a longtime resident of Boca Raton with an extensive background in business, public service, and community involvement.

Former Mayor Weinroth is married to Pamela and is the father of four boys in their blended family.

Palm Beach County Commissioner, Mayor - District 4 | Web

The Boca Raton Tribune Douglas Heizer

Meet Grill Master Judge Douglas Heizer, from the Boca Raton Tribune. We always strive to bring our readers the most relevant news from our community in the most efficient way as possible. Our staff is composed of hard workers who have your best interests in mind as they look for what’s important to bring to your attention. What people aren’t entirely aware of is the fact that not all of these staffers are actual employees of our company, but are interns. We are very proud of the internship program that we provide to both college and high school students. They become involved with our paper from day one and aren’t given menial tasks like making photocopies or fetching coffee. The interns do various jobs from managing our website to writing impressive articles, and we will not be where we are today without their help.

The Boca Raton Tribune | Web