FORT STEWART, Ga.</B>- When you eat at a dining facility or a Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation facility, you rarely think about where the food comes from, or who makes it. On Oct. 15, the cooks and food were on display at the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield Food Show at Club Stewart.
Soldier cooks, culinary arts students from the Youth Challenge Academy and civilian vendors presented a wide-array of food choices and international cuisine that are available in dining facilities and FMWR facilities around the Army, including Asian foods, Greek gyros, Mexican fajitas and enchiladas, fried catfish, giant hoagies, barbecued meats, jambalaya, tortellini and lasagna and cheese platters, to name a few of the foods served.
"This is very important because the vendors here provide the food for our dining facilities and many of the FMWR facilities, and for those facility managers, this gives them to opportunity to see, smell, taste and touch the food, and not just order it out of a magazine," said Col. Kevin Milton, Stewart-Hunter garrison commander. "It gets the creative juices flowing, showing them ways they can better serve the Soldiers and their Families in our facilities."
The 2009 Stewart-Hunter Food Show began with an awards ceremony honoring the winners in several culinary categories, including awards for the first-ever Best Burger competition that took place in September. The winner was the Warrior Transition Battalion closely followed by 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team in second place, and Combat Aviation Brigade in third.
"This competition was designed to improve the quality and variety of menu items at our installation dining facilities," said Cornelius Williams, Installation Food Program Manager. "All dining facilities that were able to compete did an outstanding job and deserve recognition for striving to improve food quality."
More than 35 vendors were displayed at the food show, preparing food for about 2,000 people who came to enjoy the food, said Williams
The ballroom was filled with tables of food, and on the outside tables lining the room were displays of award-winning creations of Youth Challenge Academy students and Soldier chefs, including the cold dessert arrangement by Cadet Cortez Jenkins of the Youth Challenge Academy.
Cadet Jenkins gold-medal winning cold desserts included Battenberg cake, strawberry
cheesecake with strawberry sauce and bread pudding.
"This event motivates us and shows us that we can be somebody," Cadet Jenkins said. "It shows you that you can accomplish things, and it pushes you. I really enjoy this (cooking), I'd really like to go to college for it. I just love to cook."
As Soldiers and civilians filled the ballroom, the vendors and chefs loaded their plates in a display of their culinary prowess.
Among the displays was a centerpiece made by Sgt. Winkens Henri, Company E, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Sergeant Henri constructed the two-foot-tall Pillsbury Dough Soldier out of dead dough, which he described as bread dough made without baking soda and with a lot of extra salt so that it doesn't rise.
"We had to have a centerpiece, and it had to be made out of food, and dead dough is the best thing for that," Sgt. Henri said. "We started off making a chef, and it just evolved from that."
While spectators milled around the centerpiece, taking pictures and asking Sgt. Henri how it is constructed, he spoke of the event.
"This is our time to show what we've got," he said. "It's a way to show our talent."
Warrant Officer Antoinette Griffin, Army Reserve food service chef, stopped by the event on her way to classes at the Savannah Culinary Institute. Warrant Officer Griffin took part in the first Stewart-Hunter food show three years ago when she was an active duty Soldier based at Fort Stewart.
"I'm here checking it out, seeing how it has evolved since I participated," she said. "By taking part three years ago in the show and competition, it really sparked my interest (in culinary arts), and helped me decide to use the G.I. Bill to go to culinary school."
Warrant Officer Griffin said that there were many more vendors at this year's event, and much more support.
"It's great to see that everyone in the Fort Stewart community is supporting and enjoying this even, not just the food community."
The theme of the food show was "Feeding Those who Proudly Serve," and that they did.
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