The smell of cooking chicken permeated the air. Metal bowls clinked and water burbled amid a frantic rush of activity.
Col. Jerry Turner, commander of 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, sliced a mango for his soup recipe with the careful precision of a battle-hardened officer.
Turner, along with all of 2nd Bde, 2nd Inf. Div.'s battalion commanders, participated in the brigade's annual Iron Chef competition Dec. 8, at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Culinary Academy, JBLM, Wash.
"Col. Turner said we should have an iron chef competition," said Sgt. 1st Class Tamara Todman, senior food service operations sergeant with 2nd Bde, 2nd Inf. Div. Brigade Support Battalion. "We said we could do it."
Eight teams of three people, two service personnel and their battalion commander, competed for bragging rights and a trophy. Their mission: prepare a three course meal consisting of an appetizer, entrée and dessert.
This is the brigade first year organizing the cooking competition.
"Going forward they'll be thinking you beat me by a hair, but next year I'll get it," Todman said.
Sergeants major relished the opportunity to act as judges for the competition. Eight sergeants major from across the battalions dug into the assorted dishes while scoring them based on taste, presentation and how well a mystery ingredient (ranging from feta cheese to eggplant) was incorporated into their menus.
"We're coming together for morale and to show what we can do," said Sgt. Danielle Williams, a food service specialist and Columbia, S.C., native with 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment. "By competing we have more time to enhance the product."
"We wanted to give our food service Soldiers an opportunity to work with their commanders and showcase their talents," said Maj. Laura Hutchinson, 2-2 BSB support operations office.
The friendly competition occurred as 2nd Bde, 2nd Inf. Div. prepares for a rotation at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif.
"I just wanted to take the time and thank those who will be feeding us in NTC," Turner said.
2nd Battalion, Ist Infantry Regiment's chicken bacon sandwich with garlic potato wedges, potato bacon soup and brownie with chocolate sauce earned them the trophy this year. They'll have the opportunity to defend their title of Iron Chef Battalion next year.
"Everyone knows how important chow is," Hutchinson said. "What our cooks do is more than just cooking food. They take pride in what they do."
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