FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Dec. 20, 2017) -- The competition is three months away, but the Fort Drum Culinary Arts Team is hard at work preparing to put their best food forward at the 43rd annual Joint Culinary Training Exercise at Fort Lee, Va.
Twenty-three Soldiers tried out for the team in late November at the Culinary Arts Center on Fort Drum, where the candidates for the Professional Chef Team had to develop a two-course menu and prepare it in 90 minutes. The Soldiers vying for a spot on the Student Team were tested on basic food knowledge and had to demonstrate knife skills.
Sgt. 1st Class Lagena Boggs, from Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 10th Mountain Division (LI), serves as team captain. She said that the 15 Soldiers with the highest scores were selected as team members. Only 11 are permitted to participate in the culinary competition, including a team manager, but the other Soldiers will serve as alternates and train with the team.
"We have been training every day since the tryouts," she said. "We're wasting no time. I think we're ahead, but at the same time we have a lot to do, especially with block leave approaching. That will slow us down slightly, but there will still be people here who can train and keep us moving forward."
The professional chefs got to work early Dec. 13 to begin preparing a fine dining buffet for the All-Army Ice Hockey Team.
Serving this luncheon to the Soldier-athletes provided the Army culinarians an opportunity to test their skills and timing as if they were competing in an event at Fort Lee.
"This was our very first practice for the new field event, which is mirrored after the Culinary Olympics," Boggs said. "It's a whole new event that is like the dining facility buffet, but on a fine dining scale using a lot of classical cuts and a lot of skills."
Diners could choose between a heavier protein -- the bacon-wrapped duck roulade -- or the lighter pan seared red snapper. The chefs also served up Israeli couscous, a potato trio, braised asparagus with hollandaise sauce and honey-glazed spring vegetables. Sides included an arugula salad with sherry vinaigrette, roasted basil tomato soup and, for dessert, a fruit tart.
Boggs said the team will use all of the time they have in the 11 weeks of training to improve upon their performance from the last competition, where they brought home 23 medals, to include two gold and being named runner-up in the Armed Forces Team of the Year category.
"We're a very competitive team," Boggs said. "If we stay focused and train as hard as we did last year, we're going to do well. The good thing about this team is that almost half of the professional chefs were student chefs last year, so they will be able to train our new Student Team."
The team has four returning members from last year who will serve on the Professional Chef Team: Boggs; Sgt. Joshua Hoyt, from 10th Mountain Division Artillery; and Spc. Raysean Lewis and Spc. Huy Nguyen; both from 1st Brigade Combat Team. Lewis and Nguyen were student chefs last year, and they earned a bronze medal as a team.
"It feels real good being back on the team, learning new things and continuing to grow as a chef," Lewis said. "I enjoy learning new techniques."
Since the last competition, Lewis said he has continued to hone his skills.
"I've been training on cuts (and) basic cooking techniques for dishes like chicken and fish," he said. "Just trying to stay sharp with all of the basic things now that will help further our competitiveness later."
New to the competition is Sgt. Maileny Frett, from 511th Military Police Company. As a member of the Professional Chef Team, she said she is curious about how the competition might further her career as an Army culinarian.
"I love cooking," she said. "It's so much more than just putting pots on a stove and stirring."
The alternates on the Professional Chef Team are Staff Sgt. Matthew Cordell, 10th Special Troops Battalion; Spc. Craig York, 23rd Military Police Company; and Spc. Stephen Johnson, 110th Special Troops Battalion. York and Johnson were members of the Student Skills Team last year.
The Soldiers selected to the Student Team are Spc. Nakeisha Williams, 23rd Military Police Company; Spc. Johnny Simmons, 1st Brigade Combat Team; Pfc. Mary Lewis, 2nd Brigade Combat Team; Pfc. Quinisha Smith, 2nd Brigade Combat Team; and Pvt. Arryamclaudine Monteza, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade. The alternates are Spc. Thomas Kreiger and Pvt. Fernando Flores, both from 10th Combat Aviation Brigade.
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