The Youth Project is proud to announce the Judges for our upcoming event! We are so excited to have the expertise

Jim Moret is chief correspondent for Inside Edition.  Based in Los Angeles, Moret covers human interest stories as well as high profile celebrity news stories.

A lawyer and gifted commentator, Moret is constantly in demand to provide legal analysis for a variety of news outlets for breaking stories involving celebrities.  In addition to his legal commentary, Moret frequently appears on Larry King Live as a guest host.  
Moret’s inspirational memoir, The Last Day of My Life, is his first book and has landed him appearances on Dr Phil, Today, Joy Behar and numerous other television and radio shows.
 
Moret also has an extensive 20-year resume covering entertainment news.  He has covered numerous premieres and celebrity stories for Inside Edition, as well as all the major entertainment events including the Emmys, Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

Before joining Inside Edition, the veteran journalist was with CNN for nearly a decade, serving as co-anchor of the long-running Showbiz Today, as well as co-anchor of CNN’s main newscast, The World Today, and anchor of CNN’s NewsNight.

Moret anchored many breaking news stories and live events during his tenure at CNN, including the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole and the 2000 Democratic National Convention.  He also served as chief anchor for CNN’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, and anchor and analyst for Simpson’s civil trial.

After leaving CNN, Moret hosted a series of specials for ABC-TV, and, for three years, co-hosted the Academy Awards pre-show for the network.  He was also guest anchor on the KTLA Morning News in Los Angeles, and on Fox 5′s Good Day New York.

Private chef and cookbook author David Lawrence knew early on that his enthusiasm for cooking and good food would become his career.  He grew up in a house where the kitchen was always abuzz with activity and something great was always cooking.  He began his culinary journey at the tender age of eight, with such genius dishes as scrambled eggs and Top Ramen, but soon moved on to much more sophisticated fare.  Some of his fondest memories center around big meals with friends and family.  He learned early the simple pleasures of setting out big platters of food, family-style with great bottles of wine and plenty of laughs.  After assisting for years in his mother’s kitchen, a woman he describes as a Martha Stewart incarnate, minus the chic poncho and clunky ankle bracelet, he knew his mission was clear.  He wanted to feed and entertain people!  So, David introduced himself to Los Angeles and its cultural and culinary melting pot in early 1996.

 David cut his teeth in several catering kitchens in what can only be described as a sink-or-swim environment.  He catered private parties on the side and began building a clientele as he honed his skills.  That eventually led to a job as a private chef in Beverly Hills and soon after he ventured into the world of food writing with the publication of his first cookbook, KidShape Café (Rutledge Hill Press) in 2005.

David is the host and Creative Food Director of the hit web cooking series Good Bite, the author of the popular food blog Forking Delicious and his latest cookbook, Boy Eats World! A Private Chef Cooks Simple Gourmet, (Lake Isle Press) is all about having fun in the kitchen and strives to demystify cooking for a generation that grew up playing Atari, and whose idea of cooking is a microwave dinner or Chinese take-out.  David’s refreshing, often humorous style and easy to follow recipes will help even the most timid cook feel like a kitchen rock star!

Cindy Schwanke is the full time culinary instructor at College of the Canyons.  She has helped grow the culinary program into a well respected, competitive culinary establishment. She has done various cooking workshops, community service projects and fundraisers to promote the college and the culinary program.

Cindy’s first love is pastry. She has worked in bake shops for over 20 years. She started in retail bakeries, then moved on to working in hotel, restaurant and catering kitchens.

Cindy has worked at Hyatt Hotels, Four Seasons Hotel, Smash box Studios, Spago restaurant and retail outlets. Cindy has her degree in Culinary Food Management. Her specialty is pastry and has won numerous medals in pastry competitions.

Cindy is a member of the American Culinary Federation and travels around the state promoting the pastry arts. “Everyone asks me why I became a pastry chef. I think it is because my fondest memories are when I was a little girl, my great grandfather and great grandmother would chop huge sugar blocks into small cubes for their daily coffee. This ritual would take place every Sunday morning at the breakfast table. This memory inspired me to work with sugar”.