NAS Whidbey Island Hosts Regional Culinary Arts Competition

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tucker M. Yates, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West, Det. Northwest

April 5, 2010 - OAK HARBOR, Wash. (NNS) -- Military food service personnel from installations around Puget Sound competed in a culinary arts competition in the Admiral Nimitz Dining Facility on Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island April 2.

Six teams comprised of service members from Air Force, Army and Navy competed in three categories; centerpiece display, cake decoration and an hour-long, cook-off competition.

Judges for the competition included Chef Scott Fraser, owner of Fraser's Gourmet Hideaway in Oak Harbor, John Auburn, a professional cake decorator and competitor from Clinton, Wash., and Anne David, wife of NAS Whidbey Island commanding officer, Capt. Gerral David.

"I am pleasantly surprised; it's very hard to do a [judging] like this when all the food comes out extremely well executed," said Fraser. "We enjoyed this day immensely, both the quality of food and, of course, the people competing. They were knowledgeable, but they also want to know more and, hopefully, I can help out by just letting them know a couple little tricks."

The cakes and centerpieces were to include the theme of "spring" in their presentation. Judging criteria included use of the theme as well as taste, presentation, originality and color coordination.

"It gives us an experience. This is the type of real-world event, and it gives us the feel of what we're good at and what we can accomplish," said Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Brianne Macaskill, of NAS Whidbey Island Supply. "It's an exhilarating intimidation. You get nervous because [the judge] has a lot of stuff under his belt, but, at the same time, it's like, 'oh, help me, I need a routine; I need to know how I'm doing.'"

The cook-off featured a secret ingredient, cheese, which was not revealed until the start of the competition. Each team was required to produce three dishes, one of which had to contain the secret ingredient. Teams were judged on knife skills, use of equipment, organization, cleanliness, execution, originality, taste and seasoning.

The winners in each category were Naval Base Kitsap for centerpiece display, NAS Whidbey Island for cake decoration and Naval Station Everett for the culinary cook-off. The overall winner for the competition was the Army team representing Joint Base Lewis-McChord for having placed in the top three in all categories.

"The caliber [of these teams] was outstanding; their ability to get the menus together once they knew the secret ingredient and execute them in an hour and present them was just like you see on television," said David. "I had a great time. I love food, and I love food prepared and presented well."

"I would say in all categories from the presentation of centerpieces, to your cakes, to the hot food, it all exceeded my expectations," said Fraser.

Staff Sgt. Guy Jackson, of the Army team, from Denver, said he was proud of the way his team pulled together even though his three teammates had no experience in competitive cooking and the members were decided on short notice.

"We spent most of our time on the centerpieces and the cake; it took seven days," said Jackson. "It feels great. It shows the Army has its head back in the game as far as culinary arts goes, and we're just trying to show our support for the culinary world in the Northwest region."

According to Norman Tabing, the Navy Region Northwest Galley programs analyst, the results of the competition will be reviewed by food service officers from the region Navy installations to determine a team to represent them in the Commander Navy Installations Command culinary arts competition for ashore galleys. The team selected will be sending two individuals to Washington, D.C., for the competition in June.

"I think the event went really well. I'm very happy with how everything went," said Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SW) Matthew McFarlane, the event coordinator of the NAS Whidbey Island galley, from Melbourne, Fla. "This morning I was scared to death about how this day was going to go down, but it turned out well. I had support from all of my people that work here; I couldn't have asked for a better team. I had a good time doing it."