Avocado Madness continues

COEUR d'ALENE — The last time we checked in with chef Mark Bertram, he was cooking up a bacon turkey burger for the Avocado Madness culinary contest.

Since then, the Beverly's lunch cook has had some exciting things happen — he became a grandfather on St. Patrick's Day and he came in first place in round three of the competition.

"Thank you all so much!" Bertram posted on his Facebook page as the voting closed. "Just won round three by 62 votes! You all are amazing! God has been very good to me through all of this! He deserves the Glory! I'll take a little!"

Betram has advanced to round four of Avocado Madness, so this week he is creating an avocado-inspired appetizer recipe. So far, he has won three culinary cleavers and a chef spoon, along with bragging rights and the chance to go head-to-head with another chef in a live competition in San Diego.

Voting for round four is from 8 a.m. today through 5 p.m. Wednesday. Keep up with Bertram on his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/mark.g.bertram, or search for Mark G. Bertram.