Meet Our New Food Panel Members

The Spokesman-Review’s reader food panel welcomes eight new members for its second season, joining six survivors from the first year of tasting.

The new members were chosen through a rigorous selection process that took into account their food experience, their taste preferences and their expressed willingness to sample frozen salisbury steak.

The newcomers, and their qualifications:

Jim McGinty, 48, Elk.

Occupation: electronics quality assurance inspector.

Reasons for selection: Enjoys top ramen, canned sardines and barbecue sauce. Thinks “fusion cooking” is pizza crust, sauerkraut and M&M’s.

Mary Lou Crouter, 54, Coeur d’Alene.

Occupation: homemaker/ teacher.

Reasons for selection: Has lived in Hawaii, Thailand and the Netherlands. Teaches meal preparation skills to low-income families.

Michael Green, 28, Spokane.

Occupation: restaurant cook.

Reasons for selection: “Am willing to try just about anything.”

Mike Lax, 46, Spokane.

Occupation: service station manager.

Reasons for selection: Expertise with kid food, since he’s raising a second family with children aged 3 and 5. Also has used “every quick and convenient food ever created.”

Jan Robison, 37, Spokane.

Occupation: real estate agent.

Reasons for selection: Prizewinning cook in national recipe contests. Has experience using instant mashed potatoes. Could sell homes to other food panel members.

Paul Norris, 34, Spokane.

Occupation: Fairchild Air Force Base employee.

Reasons for selection: Was once told by a “channeler” at a mall that he was an Aztec prince in another life. Has eaten C-rations in this life.

Meagan Coffey, 24, Spokane.

Occupation: teacher.

Reasons for selection: Could improve penmanship of other food panel members. Provides companionship for holdover vegetarian on panel. Admits to eating Tuna Helper.

Larry Kelly, 54, Spokane

Occupation: president, Kelly’s Premium Snack Foods.

Reasons for selection: Expertise in junk food should be useful when testing mystery meals. Could provide free popcorn when the panel watches TV.

Returning panel members include Jarretta Manning, a Spokane day-care provider; Jim Eggers, a Mead firefighter; Susi Faville of Coeur d’Alene; Mary Aegerter of Uniontown, Wash.; Stacy Casto, a Spokane nurse and Maria Ranniger, a Spokane public relations practitioner.