Military chefs wow judges

There was nary an MRE or plate of chipped beef on toast in sight Saturday as top chefs from all five branches of the U.S. armed forces gathered to go head-to-head in a culinary showdown at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

The competition, the Freedom Chefs Challenge, was one of the highlights of a four-day convention for the Western region of the American Culinary Federation, a national association for professional chefs and culinary students. The gathering began Friday and is based at the Salt Lake Hilton, with events scheduled at locations throughout the city.

Sgt. Jason Talcott is the foods director for the Utah National Guard, an ACF member and the organizer of the challenge. He also served in Iraq and as a chef for former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen. He said the competing chefs had all worked very hard to acquire the skill level necessary for competition.

"These guys represent the top chefs in each of their respective services," Talcott said. "Many of them started out as line cooks, feeding anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 troops at a time. They have worked their way up through basic food service and culinary arts courses ... most of them now work for four-star generals."

The contest pitted two-person teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard against each other in a cooking area that mimicked the Defense Department's famous headquarters, the Pentagon. Contestants had 2 1/2 hours to cook and half an hour to plate their fare. No menu requirements were placed on the chefs, but the format was designed to keep it interesting. The available ingredients were kept a secret until the start of the competition — similar to the popular Food Network show, "Iron Chef America." Chef Mial Parker, a conference attendee and the coach for the Navy team, said this aspect can set an undisciplined team back in a hurry.

"Just running to the ingredient table, grabbing everything in sight and jumping in can lead to disaster," Parker said. "I advise my chefs to 'recon it' first ... see what you have to work with, create your menu ... then go." Parker said the two Navy chefs, Brandon Perry and Tom McNulty, were seasoned pros with years of experience and many previous competitions under their belts.

"They already now are discipline are already disciplined from serving in the Navy," Parker said. "They are much easier to work with than kids who are fresh out of culinary school and think they already now know it all."