FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Cooking great food requires much more than simply following a recipe. It requires chefs to be skillful, creative and attentive to detail. It requires stepping out of one's comfort zone and trying new flavor combinations and ingredients, while also maintaining a safe and clean kitchen.
Some of the best food service Soldiers from across the division recently gathered on Fort Drum to showcase their technical and tactical proficiency and vie for the title of Chef of the Year.
Competitors were nominated by their respective dining facility noncommissioned officers in charge for their skill and efforts to mentor and inspire their peers to become great future leaders, continuing the tradition of excellence within their facilities.
While Soldiers were assessed on their food service skills, cooking was just one element of the event, said Sgt. Maj. John Vick, 10th Mountain Division chief food operations NCOIC.
"The Chef of the Year competition consists of an Army Physical Fitness Test, a written test, a mystery basket challenge and a formal board," he said.
Food service Soldiers have many demands placed upon them, Vick said. In addition to working long hours preparing and serving food, they must also fulfill unit responsibilities.
They must attend training events and schools, maintain their weapons proficiency and ensure that they remain in peak physical condition -- ready to meet the demands of the mission. This, he said, is why the competition is designed to assess multiple areas.
At the end of the competition, Sgt. Dale Sakuma, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, was named Senior Chef of the Year and Spc. Miguel Ramirez, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, was named Junior Chef of the Year.
Sgt. 1st Class David Grassi, 2nd Brigade Combat Team DFAC NCOIC, said that he felt confident in nominating Sakuma, as he has proven himself to be both talented and reliable.
"He is a go-to person," he said. "You can rely on him to get the mission done."
Grassi also said that Sakuma is a strong leader within his facility, always taking advantage of opportunities to improve his skills and to share this knowledge with his peers.
"His best quality is his tenacity to be great at what he does," he said. "He also enjoys teaching and training his Soldiers to do their best job."
Having grown up in a family where his mother did the majority of the cooking, Sakuma didn't have much culinary experience to draw upon when he enlisted.
"Before I joined the Army, I rarely ever cooked," he said. "I do love food, and I especially enjoy trying foods that I have never had before."
Sakuma said that he took to cooking and grew to enjoy it very quickly. He said the best part of his job is sharing his knowledge with his fellow food service Soldiers.
"I like when the young Soldiers come in and they have a lot of passion -- when they really want to try to learn more and expand their knowledge base," he said.
"I try to teach them more about the culinary arts aspect of food," he added. "The key part of culinary arts is the art side -- there's a difference between following the recipe and being artistic with it."
Sakuma said that he was apprehensive at first about being nominated for the challenge.
"I was nervous to compete but also interested in the experience that the competition would offer," he said.
Sakuma used his love for new foods, flavors and culinary methods to his advantage during the "mystery basket" portion of the competition, during which Soldiers are required to use every ingredient provided to create a three-course meal consisting of a starter, an entrée and a dessert.
Grassi said working with new ingredients can sometimes be a challenge for food service Soldiers.
"In the normal dining facility, you don't have an opportunity to be as creative as you would be for this competition," he said.
Sakuma said he was a little worried about incorporating some of the ingredients included in the basket, especially items like pumpkin chips and dragon fruit.
"The mystery basket was the most interesting aspect of the competition," he said. "It put your knowledge and skills about culinary arts to the test."
Competitors have 30 minutes to plan and submit their menus, and then they have three and a half hours to cook and present their dishes to a panel of judges who rate each dish on its appearance, nutritional value, creativity, ingredient compatibility and taste.
"Once I had the menu developed, I was pretty confident about it," he said. "When I had it all written down and knew what my organization for plating would be, it was easier."
Despite his initial trepidation, as Sakuma tasted each of his dishes, he said he was pleased with the result.
Although the "mystery basket" is typically the most unnerving portion of the competition for food service Soldiers, Ramirez said that it did not rattle him.
"I started cooking when I was 9 years old, and I fell in love with cooking and being able to express myself and my creativity through food," he said. "I continue to try new things, new flavors and new spices."
Sgt. 1st Class David Trojanowski, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade DFAC NCOIC, said that Ramirez's creativity is one of his biggest assets.
"Ramirez is always trying to improve upon existing recipes and think outside the box," he said.
This innovativeness paid off for Ramirez. He was pleased to hear comments -- both constructive and positive -- that the judges made while tasting his dishes.
"One comment that really stuck in my head was that some of the flavors that shouldn't have (gone) together really did," he said. "I had a fish crusted with pistachios and I added goat cheese to that. It was on a bed of bok choy, which is kind of bitter. The flavors all worked together, though, which they didn't really expect."
While comfortable working with different flavors and food profiles, Ramirez said he was apprehensive about the public speaking portion of the event.
During the board portion of the competition, judges inspect the appearance of each competitor's uniform and their ability to communicate effectively as they answered questions from the Installation Senior / Junior Chef Study Guide.
"I found the board to be the most nerve-racking portion of the competition," he said. "This was my first board of any sort. It was a new environment for me, but once I got started I was fine."
Trojanowski said he knew that Ramirez was fully capable of handling the board portion, as he has proven himself to be capable of handling any challenge that he encounters.
"Ramirez is one of the most professional individuals I have ever had the pleasure to work with," he said. "I can rely upon him to accomplish the mission even when the odds are stacked against him."
When it was time for awards to be given out, both Soldiers said that they were pleased and surprised to be named winners.
Sakuma said he knew that it was a close race.
"As the competition continued, I could see that it was going to be close," he said. "Other competitors had done very well."
Grassi said he was very proud of Sakuma's performance.
"This is the second year in a row that 2nd Brigade has won Division Senior Chef of the Year," he said. "It just goes to show that we have very talented chefs who work at (our dining facility). He did a stellar job."
Trojanoswki said that Ramirez is a credit to the Falcon Brigade Dining Facility and he represented the staff well.
"It is an honor to have him in my building sharing his ideas with the rest of the team," he said.
Both winners said they plan to try out for the 10th Mountain Division Culinary Arts Team. In order to secure their spot on the team, Sakuma and Ramirez will participate in a weeklong selection workshop. If chosen, they will travel to Fort Lee, Va., in early March to participate in the Armywide Military Culinary Arts Competition and Training Event.
"We have about 325 cooks assigned to Fort Drum," Vick said. "It is truly an honor for these young culinarians to be selected and to train and travel to Fort Lee for this annual competitive training event."
The event also offers competitors an opportunity to gain valuable experience, he said.
"Most of these up-and-coming chefs are working towards their American Culinary Federation certifications," Vick said. "This event gives them an opportunity to (earn a) medal, which is applied to their next level of certification. Just like any specialized professional certification or degree completion, it opens doors for greater opportunities and promotions and provides credentials to be competitive outside the Army."
Regardless of whether they make the team or not, Sakuma and Ramirez both have other goals for the future.
"I'm never completely satisfied when I'm done cooking," Ramirez said. "I am always trying to do better -- to learn and to improve."
Sakuma said that he plans to expand his knowledge in all areas of food service operations.
"I plan on continuing to expand my knowledge and experience into specialty food and the administrative sections of food service," he said. "I'm going to learn as much as I can so I can teach my Soldiers."
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