Photo By Staff Sgt. Andre Taylor | U.S. Army Soldiers with the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, pose for a photo...... read more read more
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GATESVILLE, Texas – Three soldiers with the 1st Cavalry Division who possess advance culinary expertise competed against pit masters at the Gatesville Texas Station Spring Fest BBQ Cook Off March 25, 2023. The team was made up of four qualified professional level culinary level chefs, some which were not culinary specialists.
Every year Champions Barbecue Alliance hosts a competition for pit masters to compete where a total of four dishes are smoked, which included chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. Competitors are judged by the taste, texture and appearance of products.
Members of the culinary team across Fort Hood have not been able to compete in culinary competitions in the last three years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"It’s our first year getting out there, either monthly or quarterly, leading up to the big culinary competition every year at Fort Lee, Virginia," said Master Sgt. Randall Summerford, the chief culinary management sergeant major.
The competition gave participating Soldiers a chance to show off their culinary skills, freeing them from the day-to-day routines at their respective warrior restaurants.
“I enjoy the competition. I love food service. I feel like we’re super heroes," said Staff Sgt. Viktoriya Moore, the platoon sergeant at Operation Iraqi Freedom Warrior Restaurant. “So, I just fell into my normal duties. It was a normal day in the office; time to suit up and do what we do best, feed people.”
Though the competition included skilled pit masters from across the city, the Soldiers kept their heads held high during the fast action and strict time limitations they were up against.
“It was just keeping calm and sticking to the basics,” Moore said. "I know how to season food. My dad taught me a little bit on the grill so, I stuck to what I knew.”
Moore spoke of the hurdles she overcame while being on the grill and making sure the food was good enough to be ready for the judges.
There is little room for error, as the chefs have to understand proper seasoning techniques and temperatures.
“The biggest thing with barbecuing in general, is you can’t really taste the food in the middle of the process, especially barbecue,” Moore said. “You want to leave it in long and let it cook. You can’t really adjust fire until after.”
In between cooking events, the chefs would have family and friends taste test the food for approval to make sure it was ready for judges. If one product was better than the other, chefs would base their final product for the judges on a vote.
The dishes were presented to the judges while the Soldiers returned to the work area for clean-up and preparation for other products. Judges rated food on a point scale for all teams that participated.
Despite placing 10th for pulled pork, 9th for brisket, and placing 11th place overall in the competition, these food service professionals were able to showcase their talents and use their creativity to bring recognition to Army culinary professionals across Fort Hood.
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.04.2023 14:05 |
| Story ID: | 441917 |
| Location: | GATESVILLE, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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