MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Three Marines and one Sailor competed for the title of Chef of the Quarter, Oct. 21, 2005, at Anderson Hall on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.
Sgt. William Mitchell, Cpl. David J. Washington Jr., Lance Cpl. Christopher Perna, and Seaman Harold Wallace competed against each other by cooking food that was judged and served to guests who attended the cook-off.
According to the chefs, they went through a qualifying process before they reached the cook-off phase.
“There are three events to the Chef of the Quarter,” said Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Yantosca, production manager, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. “The first event was a 100-question written test that included knowledge on garrison food and field food. The second event was an oral board that tested them on basic Marine Corps or Navy knowledge, and the third event is the cook-off.”
The competition started off with 10 cooks at the beginning. Three were dropped during the written-test stage and three were dropped during the oral testing, said Yantosca. The cook-off then consisted of the four finalists who scored high enough to continue the competition.
The last event is set up on the same premise as the television show, “Iron Chef,” said Yantosca. On the day of the cook-off, the cooks arrived early in the morning to prepare their menus, which were graded and approved by chief cooks. The cooks were watched over by staff noncommissioned officers who took note of the techniques they used and how they prepared their dishes.
Judges then tasted the food in order to decide which was the overall winner of the Chef of the Quarter competition, said Yantosca. The judges scored the entrées based on taste, theme, creativity, presentation and professionalism. During the ceremony, the cooks served their dishes to guests who attended for the event.
After guests finished their meals, the winner of the Chef of the Quarter competition was announced. The winner for the fourth-quarter was Washington.
“I came in at 5 p.m. last night to begin my menu,” said Washington. “My girlfriend influenced the theme, because she is really into themes. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
Washington’s theme was a pirate theme that included Land Lubber’s pasta, pepper salad, garlic bread and an apple treat.
A lot of planning and heart went into the preparation, and it was an honor for them to get that far, said Mitchell.
“I can’t wait to do the same job with 3/3 in Iraq,” said Washington, noting that he’s going to take all of his knowledge with him on his deployment with ‘America’s Battalion.’”
The winner of each Chef of the Quarter competition goes on to compete for the title of Chef of the Year, said Yantosca.
Remaining optimistic, the lone Sailor in the competition said that he is not in the least discouraged with the outcome of this quarter’s competition.
Wallace remarked, “Maybe next time I’ll come out on top.”