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BY TERRANCE BELLFort Lee Public Affairs

FORT LEE, Va. — Friday’s Armed Forces Chef of the Year showdown provided a hotly com-petitive start to this year’s Mili-tary Culinary Arts Competitive Training Event.

The MCACTE is a means to train military food service person-nel in a nurturing yet competitive environment. The Quartermaster School’s Joint Culinary Center of Excellence hosts the annual event

that is sanctioned by the Ameri-can Culinary Federation.

The winners in all events will be announced during an awards ceremony set for Friday.

More than 200 military culi-nary practitioners are expected to participate in various events, to include individual skill competi-tions, such as Armed Forces and Student Chef of the Year, as well as team events like the Military Hot Food Kitchen Challenge.

The AFCY event, the most prestigious individual contest,

attracted 18 entries – 16 Soldiers and two Sailors. Competitors were given four hours to prepare a four-course meal based on a mystery basket concept, meaning they had no knowledge of the menu items until start time. Only well-studied, well-practiced chefs can successfully fulfill that type of requirement, said Sgt. Maj. Mark Warren, a judge and former win-ner.

“You have to be creative, adap-tive, innovative and able to over-come obstacles as they hit you,” said the current food service sergeant major, G4, U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “You can’t panic. You just have to figure it out and keep moving forward.”

Goose and rabbit – entrees not likely seen in military dining facil-ities – were among the proteins included in the mystery basket for this year’s event. In addition to the challenge of figuring out how to prepare such game, the time limit in which to do it was another obstacle.

“The whole time management thing is big,” said Spc. Samuel Shaaheed, who represented the Fort Bragg team. “You get four hours to do the work, but those four hours feel like two.”

Shaaheed, who competed pre-viously in the competition, said commitment to the profession drove him to take a shot at for chef of the year.

“It’s the ambition and passion I have,” he said. “It was something I wanted to do last year. Just the hype about it made it sound excit-ing. I want to win gold, and I want to win in general.”

The previous two winners have been featured in national maga-zines, but notoriety and prestige take a backseat to the event’s training theme, which is to provide participants with a com-petitive experience that pays divi-dends to end users, Warren said.

“I just hope the Soldiers, Sail-ors, Airmen and Marines who participate in this competition are able to learn something they can take back to their units and give something to the diners they sup-port every day,” he said.

Sgt. Sarah Deckert earned the AFCY title in 2014. The Fort Stewart, Georgia, culinary team

returned to Fort Lee to defend the competition’s most coveted award, the Installation of the Year trophy, which is a culmi-nation of team’s participation in several events. Teams from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and Fort Hood also competed.

Armed Forces Chef of Year competition concludes

Spc. Matthew Thomas, a food service specialist assigned to Fort Bliss, prepares dishes for judges during the Armed Forces Chef of the Year contest Friday. It was the opening event of the 40th annual Military Culinary Arts Competitive Training Event that continues through today and will be followed by an awards ceremony Friday.

Photos by Terrance Bell, Fort Lee Public Affairs

Courtesy photos

Sgt. Samantha Poe, a food service specialist assigned to the Military District of Washington, adds ingredients to pots on the stove during the Armed Forces Chef of the Year competition Friday at Fort Lee. The AFCY is part of the 40th annual Military Culinary Arts Competitive Training Event that continues through today and will be followed by an awards ceremony on Friday.