JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
The 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) hosted a two-day Iron Chef competition to continually raise the standards of culinary excellence and professionalism, Oct. 28 and 29.
During the event, five Army chefs and their teams competed for the title of the 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) Iron Chef 2014. The team leads were winners of the 2014 Chef of the Quarter Board, who chose three teammates to join them in the Iron Chef competition.
The competition included a physical challenge, board, written test and a demonstration of their culinary competency.
U.S. Army Master Sgt. Orlando Akins, 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) senior culinary management noncommissioned officer, said this event was a way to provide an arena to demonstrate the blending between taste and health to provide for young culinary professionals.
"The Soldiers were not only tested on their culinary skills," said Akins. "They had to participate in a ruck march, 50-question test and meet a board."
On the first day, the Soldiers completed a ruck march, board, a written test and built their mobile kitchen trailer (MKT) where they would be cooking the following day.
Culinary specialists utilize the MKTs during field training and deployments to provide meals for Soldiers on location.
"These Soldiers rarely get the opportunity to utilize the MKTs," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lawrence Perry, 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) food advisor. "This event gives them the opportunity to show off what they know to the commands."
On day two of the competition, the Soldiers were given a menu to create in their own fashion, but with a deadline. They were required to make a double tomato bruschetta as an appetizer, chicken marsala with fettuccine pasta and grilled asparagus as an entrée and banana foster for dessert.
Floor and taste-testing judges included U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and Army Capabilities Integration Center's generals' aides de camp, as well as the 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) commanders and sergeants major within the brigade.
The taste-testers judged on presentation, taste, originality, correct preparations and craftsmanship on a one-to-ten scale.
One of the taste testers was Command Sgt. Maj. Vickie Culp, 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) sergeant major.
"This gives the cooks the opportunity to test their culinary skills," said Culp. "It gets them out of the dining facility to show off what they can do."
The judges announced the final results after all of the scores were tallied.
In the end, the judges named Spc. Monet Wigfall, 155 Inland Cargo Transportation Company, 53rd MCB food service specialist, the winner of the competition.
"Yes, there was a team that won, but really you all won," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kenneth Leeds, 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) deputy commanding officer, "The food was phenomenal, you all did an absolutely outstanding job, had a good time and you learned."
The brigade plans to include other military branches in next year's competition.