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After weeks of training with chefs at restaurants and bakeries in the surrounding communities, Fort Polk soldiers showed off some of the things they learned with a showcase on Feb. 9-10 at the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division dining facility. The display and taste testing allowed Fort Polk’s chain of command to experience exactly what the culinary arts team has learned in preparation for the 37th annual Military Culinary Competition, held at Fort Lee, Va. from Feb. 25 through March 9. “This is a showcase of the skills we have mastered and is a chance to show our chain of command that this training and the competition means a lot to us. This isn’t just cooking, it’s an art form. You have to be imaginative and passionate,” said Sgt. Armando Hernandez, Fort Polk Culinary Arts Team leader.
Sgt. First Class Sherod Johnson, manager of the Culinary Arts Team, said that some of the soldiers spent six weeks at L’Auberge du Lac Casino, Lake Charles. Others trained at Atwood Bakery in Alexandria.
“The people going to Atwood Bakery will be competing in the pastries division and the people training at L’Auberge are competing in appetizers, different types of platters and things like that,” Johnson said.
He said they are trying to get to the point where the culinary arts team trains at places like these all year long because they are trying to be more competitive with other Army installations.
“Every installation in the Army has a culinary team and what we were trying to do is have a post team able to concentrate on learning these advanced skills all year long," Johnson said. "Then we can do demonstrations in the community to show what we’ve learned. The competition motivates the 92 G (military occupational specialty) food specialists and results in an esprit de corps."
The Culinary Arts Team is a new concept at Fort Polk and Johnson feels the more success they have at the competition, the better chance they will have making it permanent.
“When our soldiers come back with a medal or two, it will focus eyes on Fort Polk in a positive way," Johnson said.
Before going to L’Auberge, Staff Sgt. Patrick Hiebert, culinary arts team captain, would have said that he is the best at what he does — not so much anymore.
“It has been pretty humbling," he said. "It made me realize that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Going down to L’Auberge and training with chefs who have been doing this for years really made me realize the types of cooking that I didn’t know about. Our team has learned amazing amounts of information in a short time. It has been a long, tiresome, frustrating road, but through the ups and downs, it’s been worth it. Even if we weren’t going to compete and didn’t get medals, what we’ve accomplished here as a team is unbelievable. To start from nothing and be where we are now — no words can describe it."
However, he’s confident about the competition.
“All the training we’ve been doing is going to help us put our best foot forward and I’m sure one, if not several of us, will win medals," Hiebert said. "I’m not saying we’re going to win gold. I just think we have a far better chance than if we had gone without all this preparation."
Hiebert will be competing for chef of the year.
“That’s when you get a black box with mystery ingredients," he said. "I think the total is four hours from the first time I look at the ingredients I have to work with to finishing a four-course meal. I love competition. I’m going to go in there and work as hard and fast as I can."
One of the youngest members of the culinary arts team is Pfc. Erica Hamilton.
“I’m so excited," she said. "I’m ready to get there and get started. I’ll be competing in the junior chef of the year competition and I’m ready to show what I can do."
Hernandez said it’s not every day that you get to go into an institute and get one-on-one training from professionals at the top of their field.
“We haven’t been together long," he said. "Other installation teams have been together for months or years. We are going to be going against teams that have been together and do this kind of thing all the time, but I think it has been an advantage to go into the community and get the training we have. We are going against the best of the best and I think many of the installations we’ve competed against in the past don’t take us seriously. But, we put effort and passion into everything we do and we are going to turn a couple of heads this year by winning medals."
Warrant Officer Mario Cochran, culinary arts officer in charge, said that competitions like this give soldiers a platform where they can participate in head-to-head competition and show everybody what they know. He said the military culinary competition is military wide and includes participation from Department of Defense civilians.
“When you talk about the best of the best the United States has to offer, this is it," he said. "It’s the super bowl of culinary arts. Soldiers compete in everything from cold food and sauce categories to ice sculpting and chocolate manipulation. Everyone will be competing in what they have been training for during the past few weeks. I believe our chances are great. People recognize that our road to gold is one that everybody at Fort Polk can share.”
Johnson said after the competition is over, the plan is to reincorporate the team back into their DFACs so that they can bring some of the techniques they have learned back to their facilities. Johnson said they want to do this because it gives everybody an opportunity to participate on the culinary arts team.
“It’s all about the soldiers, not just the competition," he said. "This opportunity gives them a chance to be the best soldiers and cooks in the Army."
Hiebert agreed that once the competition is complete, he’s going to share the knowledge and skills he has learned with his soldiers in the dining facilities.
“A lot of people are going to be pretty upset with me at first, until they get the hang of it," he said. "There are some simple things that you can incorporate into regular shift work that’s not going to take a lot of time, but will make a difference. You just have to want to do it."
“People eat with their eyes," Hernandez said. "Being able to play with the plate and make it appealing — that’s something that we need to get back to. If you teach basic cuts it helps the cooking process. So, yes we would love to bring everything we have learned, and incorporate it and give back to the dining facilities once we come back from competition, because that’s what we are here for."
Cochran said that many posts (Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Drum, N.Y.) keep their team together for years and years, but they wanted to do something different at Fort Polk.
“We will still maintain some continuity with our team, however, we want to make sure that, as far as training goes, our dining facilities and soldiers benefit from what our Culinary Arts Team learns," he said. "By implementing those cooks back into the DFAC, we bring culinary arts to our soldiers. That means better pastries, main course items, ideas, marketing and more."
After weeks of training with chefs at restaurants and bakeries in the surrounding communities, Fort Polk soldiers showed off some of the things they learned with a showcase on Feb. 9-10 at the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division dining facility. The display and taste testing allowed Fort Polk’s chain of command to experience exactly what the culinary arts team has learned in preparation for the 37th annual Military Culinary Competition, held at Fort Lee, Va. from Feb. 25 through March 9. “This is a showcase of the skills we have mastered and is a chance to show our chain of command that this training and the competition means a lot to us. This isn’t just cooking, it’s an art form. You have to be imaginative and passionate,” said Sgt. Armando Hernandez, Fort Polk Culinary Arts Team leader.
Sgt. First Class Sherod Johnson, manager of the Culinary Arts Team, said that some of the soldiers spent six weeks at L’Auberge du Lac Casino, Lake Charles. Others trained at Atwood Bakery in Alexandria.
“The people going to Atwood Bakery will be competing in the pastries division and the people training at L’Auberge are competing in appetizers, different types of platters and things like that,” Johnson said.
He said they are trying to get to the point where the culinary arts team trains at places like these all year long because they are trying to be more competitive with other Army installations.
“Every installation in the Army has a culinary team and what we were trying to do is have a post team able to concentrate on learning these advanced skills all year long," Johnson said. "Then we can do demonstrations in the community to show what we’ve learned. The competition motivates the 92 G (military occupational specialty) food specialists and results in an esprit de corps."
The Culinary Arts Team is a new concept at Fort Polk and Johnson feels the more success they have at the competition, the better chance they will have making it permanent.
“When our soldiers come back with a medal or two, it will focus eyes on Fort Polk in a positive way," Johnson said.
Before going to L’Auberge, Staff Sgt. Patrick Hiebert, culinary arts team captain, would have said that he is the best at what he does — not so much anymore.
“It has been pretty humbling," he said. "It made me realize that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Going down to L’Auberge and training with chefs who have been doing this for years really made me realize the types of cooking that I didn’t know about. Our team has learned amazing amounts of information in a short time. It has been a long, tiresome, frustrating road, but through the ups and downs, it’s been worth it. Even if we weren’t going to compete and didn’t get medals, what we’ve accomplished here as a team is unbelievable. To start from nothing and be where we are now — no words can describe it."
However, he’s confident about the competition.
“All the training we’ve been doing is going to help us put our best foot forward and I’m sure one, if not several of us, will win medals," Hiebert said. "I’m not saying we’re going to win gold. I just think we have a far better chance than if we had gone without all this preparation."
Hiebert will be competing for chef of the year.
“That’s when you get a black box with mystery ingredients," he said. "I think the total is four hours from the first time I look at the ingredients I have to work with to finishing a four-course meal. I love competition. I’m going to go in there and work as hard and fast as I can."
One of the youngest members of the culinary arts team is Pfc. Erica Hamilton.
“I’m so excited," she said. "I’m ready to get there and get started. I’ll be competing in the junior chef of the year competition and I’m ready to show what I can do."
Hernandez said it’s not every day that you get to go into an institute and get one-on-one training from professionals at the top of their field.
“We haven’t been together long," he said. "Other installation teams have been together for months or years. We are going to be going against teams that have been together and do this kind of thing all the time, but I think it has been an advantage to go into the community and get the training we have. We are going against the best of the best and I think many of the installations we’ve competed against in the past don’t take us seriously. But, we put effort and passion into everything we do and we are going to turn a couple of heads this year by winning medals."
Warrant Officer Mario Cochran, culinary arts officer in charge, said that competitions like this give soldiers a platform where they can participate in head-to-head competition and show everybody what they know. He said the military culinary competition is military wide and includes participation from Department of Defense civilians.
“When you talk about the best of the best the United States has to offer, this is it," he said. "It’s the super bowl of culinary arts. Soldiers compete in everything from cold food and sauce categories to ice sculpting and chocolate manipulation. Everyone will be competing in what they have been training for during the past few weeks. I believe our chances are great. People recognize that our road to gold is one that everybody at Fort Polk can share.”
Johnson said after the competition is over, the plan is to reincorporate the team back into their DFACs so that they can bring some of the techniques they have learned back to their facilities. Johnson said they want to do this because it gives everybody an opportunity to participate on the culinary arts team.
“It’s all about the soldiers, not just the competition," he said. "This opportunity gives them a chance to be the best soldiers and cooks in the Army."
Hiebert agreed that once the competition is complete, he’s going to share the knowledge and skills he has learned with his soldiers in the dining facilities.
“A lot of people are going to be pretty upset with me at first, until they get the hang of it," he said. "There are some simple things that you can incorporate into regular shift work that’s not going to take a lot of time, but will make a difference. You just have to want to do it."
“People eat with their eyes," Hernandez said. "Being able to play with the plate and make it appealing — that’s something that we need to get back to. If you teach basic cuts it helps the cooking process. So, yes we would love to bring everything we have learned, and incorporate it and give back to the dining facilities once we come back from competition, because that’s what we are here for."
Cochran said that many posts (Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Drum, N.Y.) keep their team together for years and years, but they wanted to do something different at Fort Polk.
“We will still maintain some continuity with our team, however, we want to make sure that, as far as training goes, our dining facilities and soldiers benefit from what our Culinary Arts Team learns," he said. "By implementing those cooks back into the DFAC, we bring culinary arts to our soldiers. That means better pastries, main course items, ideas, marketing and more."
