Celebrity Chefs serve up fun and food

By Mark Iacampo, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria -- HohenfelsNovember 25, 2014

Dishing it up
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The whole crew
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Serving it up
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HOHENFELS, Germany -- With knives flashing and hard rock blaring, four Hohenfels Military Community members dished up a four-course meal under the tutelage of two 'Celebrity Chefs' for a group of lucky diners, here, recently.

John Conley and Sarah Simington, both featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," finished their latest Armed Forces Entertainment tour at Hohenfels, where they worked with four volunteer chefs, four servers and two dishwashers to serve up a meal for fifty diners.

"These smaller, more intimate events allow us to work with people in the kitchen, and come out and interact with the diners," said Conley. "It's a bit more relaxed than hitting the deck and doing 3,000 fish tacos for lunch."

The menu consisted of mini-cheeseburgers on a Hawaiian roll, shrimp ceviche, pork chops stuffed with gouda cheese, bacon-wrapped asparagus, grilled pound cake and fried ice cream.

Participants were chosen through a random drawing with prep work beginning on Monday, and the final meal being served the following evening.

"I probably do 75 percent of the cooking at home," said Brent Marx, one of the volunteer chefs, "and I've seen some of (Conley and Simington's) clips on YouTube, so being here and learning from these chefs was just the hammer!"

Simington, who owns two restaurants in Baltimore, Maryland, said the volunteers aren't the only ones who are learning.

"We're here to learn, too," she said. "I learn something every time -- one person in the kitchen will teach you a little something they know or add a spice you didn't know of. Every time I go on a tour, I come back and put something I've learned together for a special in my restaurant."

The 'Celebrity Chef' tours have been stopping at posts around the globe for the past four years and Simington has been part of trips to Bahrain, Egypt and Africa.

"It's great to be able to give back to my country doing what I do best," she said. "Doing this has changed me 100 percent, top to bottom. It's made me a better person and it makes me very thankful for anything and everything I have. I wouldn't be able to follow any of my dreams if these people were not out here protecting my freedoms."

Conley feels the same way. After three years in the program, with tours in Okinawa, Djibouti, and various aircraft carriers, he said he never tires of it.

"Some days are 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., three days in a row, but when you see first-hand the sacrifices that are made every single day, this is easy. I look forward to it. We can bring a taste of home, and just try to say thank you," he said.

Though the four volunteer chef's had never met before, they quickly melded into a cohesive team.

"We really worked well together, like a well-oiled machine," said Michael Payne.

The result was certainly appreciated to those diners treated to the gourmet meal.

"It was a great experience," said 1st Sgt. Clint Mack. "I'm just coming out of rotation so it was great to get a good meal."

"We watch them on TV all the time, so to be able to actually taste it was wonderful," added his wife, Summer Mack.

The chefs, servers and dishwashers got to indulge in the leftovers, but all said the best part was diners' appreciation.

"It was an awesome experience to learn from somebody with so much experience," said cook Kellie James. "But the most exciting part was the waitresses coming back and saying how much everyone is enjoying everything."

Her co-chef, Chris Echevarria, agreed.

"It was a lot of work, but you look at the end product, the smile on everyone's faces, and that right there makes it worth it," he said.

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