Europe
Culinary competition tests DODDS' students skills
Stars and Stripes
May 11, 2012
Bitburg's Yveth Murillo, left, and Cheyenne Pillatzke cook their team's dishes at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Bitburg's Yveth Murillo, left, and Cheyenne Pillatzke cook their team's dishes at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Dyami Pike stirs ground sausage while keeping an eye on the chicken breasts during the cooking competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Heidelberg's Bobby Thomas, left, and Arikka Shepard roll stuffed chicken breasts during the cooking competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Master Sgt. Major Luckett, a judge for the cooking competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire, watches Baumholder's Dyami Pike put finishing touches on his team's appetizer, cabbage leaves stuffed with pork and couscous. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Bitburg's Kaitlyn Miller tastes one of her team's dishes during the cooking competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Master Sgt. Major Luckett, Spc. Nicholas LaBarge, Spc. Cleopatra Cook and Staff Sgt. Christopher Rolack, left to right, discuss a dish as they judge the cooking competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck's Jecelia Trudeau makes a rose out of icing during the cake decorating competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Jorge Campos, left, and Hassan Griffin of Naples, carve apples, one of the competitions at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern's Laserik Jones slices a vegetable Julienne-style during the knife skills event at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire in Sembach, Germany, Wednesday. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's entry in the cooking competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire. Clockwise from bottom right, a Thai cabbage roll with couscous and sausage filling, sweet potato broccoli chicken curry for the main course and fried bananas as desert. The cooks were Dyami Pike and Andrew Hooks. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Heidelberg's entry in the cooking competition at the DODDS-Europe Culinary Arts Faire. Their main course was Italian style rolled chicken medallions, top, golden cream of broccoli soup was their starter, with a chocolate desert rounding out the meal. The cooks were Bobby Thomas, Arikka Shephard, Annette Sheets and Rhiannon Stark. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Bitburg's entry in the cooking competition was, counter clockwise from top left, vegetable samosas with red chili pepper chutney, chicken mango curry and indian rice pudding. The cooks were Cheyenne Pillatzke, Yveth Murillo and Kaitlyn Miller. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
SEMBACH, Germany — DODDS-Europe’s aspiring chefs competed here in a culinary arts fair this week that tested their ability not only to prepare but also present a meal.
Teams from eight high schools in Germany and Italy prepared a starter, entrée and dessert that were judged on taste and presentation by a food inspector, a preemptive medicine specialist and two soldiers who have experience cooking for generals.
Only allowed to use two burners, the future chefs could use their imagination on the recipes, but all meals had to include chicken breast, rice and broccoli.
Some of the delicious tasting and smelling dishes they concocted were Italian style rolled chicken medallions, sweet potato broccoli chicken curry and chicken mango curry.
Besides cooking, students demonstrated their knife skills on a variety of vegetables, slicing them in julienne, chiffonade and brunoise style.
There was competition in cake decorating, apple carving and napkin folding. They also tested their culinary knowledge in a quiz bowl.
Baumholder senior Dyami Pike took the competition and his cooking seriously.
“After graduation, I can’t see myself doing anything other than this career,” he said as he cleaned his kitchen space with teammate Andrew Hooks after the competition.
Another senior, Kaitlyn Miller of Bitburg, was lamenting that she wouldn’t be able to participate next year.
“I wish I was still a junior so I could do it all again,” she said.
As a reward for all their cooking, the students were treated to an evening of fine dining at a local restaurant.