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Dining facility hosts food prep competition

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sam Fogleman
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The 92nd Force Support Squadron hosted a cooking competition June 25 at the Warrior Dining Facility here.
 
A morale boosting event, four teams faced off against one another, ultimately building toward a judging sequence led by Col. Brian Newberry, the 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander, Col. Konrad Klausner, the 92nd Mission Support Group commander, Chief Master Sgt. Wendy Hansen, the 92nd ARW command chief, and Doug Fisher, a U.S. Navy veteran, certified executive chef, culinary educator and competition judge. The teams were separately comprised of the Top 3, First 4, 5-6 Club and a Ross and Warrior Dining Facilities composite. The theme was informally "Battle Asparagus."

Every single dish had to contain asparagus. The teams were responsible for one appetizer and one entrée.

"The dining facility is a very high stress environment, with a lot going on," said Lt. Col. Maria Hatchell, the 92nd FSS commander. "This kitchen is our battlefield every day, so we wanted to highlight the talent that works hard behind the scenes."

This was the second annual cooking competition here, and force support staff members indicated the turnout was much higher than in 2013, when the competition was limited to a simple faceoff between the Warrior and Ross staffs. The dining facilities' team was comprised of both military and contracted Aramark employees.

Participants said the presence of Fisher as one of the four judges certainly elevated the stature of the event, given that he is an inductee into the prestigious American Academy of Chefs. He was previously the department head at the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy at Spokane Community College.

Hatchell said she hopes the event will expand to company grade officer groups following the success of this year's event and the strides made since last year. The event was a friendly competition, encouraging greater community participation.

"We wanted to pull the wing and base in together," said Master Sgt. Brendon Chambers, the Warrior Dining Facility manager. "Our main goal was the inclusion of all ranks and career fields, ideally, or at least make it open to them, along with dependents, reservists and other branches. That happened. We even had an Army reservist on the First 4 team."

Amazing the judges with taste and presentation, the Top 3 team won the competition. The winning team included Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Rueckert of the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron, Master Sgts. Chrystal and Richard Ortega of the 92nd Communications Squadron and Dawn Altmaier of the 92nd ARW.

Hatchell said the event showcased the quality, passion and dedication of Fairchild's cooking and meal preparation ranking the base with any fine dining establishment in downtown Spokane, where workers try making people comfortable and work for their hard-earned money.

"Our warriors of the kitchen showed great variety," Hatchell said. "There was no duplication of dishes, so there was a lot to compare. The winners also gave out their prize money to other base organizations, which showed their dedication to the community."

Freshness and quality were paramount pursuits of the competition.

"It was about the caring nature of food," said Staff Sgt. Robert Conniff, the Warrior Dining Facility assistant NCO in charge. "We wanted to get feedback from everybody, since it's so important to show that level of caring."

The 92nd FSS is already formulating the planning stages for the next chef competition event.