50th JCTE Results Announced, Top Chefs goes to Air Force

FORT LEE, Va. -- For the first time, the U.S. Air Force was recognized as the Culinary Team of the Year and more than 320 American Culinary Federation medals were awarded to military chefs at the 50th Annual Joint Culinary Training Event awards ceremony March 6 at Beaty Theater.

JCTE started Feb. 27 and continued through Mar. 4 with the culmination of the International Team Challenge. The exercise, administered by the Joint Culinary Training Center, is the largest ACF-sanctioned competition in North America. This year’s exercise showed the talent of military chefs from all military services around the globe to include three international teams with a focus on readiness and skills needed to feed in the deployed environment.

“Over the past week it has been my distinct honor to host this year’s Joint Culinary Training Exercise at the Army’s Sustainment Center of Excellence,” said U.S. Army’s 60th Quartermaster, Col. Kevin Agness. “Throughout this week, you reminded us why feeding the force is not a task. It is a calling. It is a science. It is an art -- feeding the force promotes endurance, builds morale and promotes combat readiness.

“Let’s be clear: this event has never been about fancy executive kitchens. It has always been about tactical mission readiness…whether your tactical mission is on Air Force One, on a fast attack sub, at the end of a flightline, or in places like the deserts of western Africa,” added Agness. “Your mission is about delivering effects when it matters, where it matters, for the people who matter.”

This year, 17 teams trained and competed in 232 cooking entries from five service branches and three countries. Seven teams vied for Culinary Team of the Year with the U.S Air Force winning and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, runner-up; U.S. Navy student team was recognized as the best team with all five members having less than three years in culinary arts; Sgt. 1st Class William Pelkey, Fort Hood, Texas, won best Armed Forces Chef; Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Trenton Ortiz, Coast Guard, won best student chef; Master Sgt. Daniel Thompson, Team U.S. Air Force, was recognized as the pastry chef of the year; and Culinary Spc. Carolina Sanchez-Lozano, Fort Hood was recognized as the student pastry chef of the year. The Navy student team, Pelkey, Ortiz, Thompson and Sanchez-Lozano are now eligible to attend the ACF National Convention & Show June 28 – July2 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“After five years, this feels amazing,” said Senior Master Sgt. Amanda Brodeur, Air Force team captain. “Doing this with my sister (Senior Master Sgt. Jacquelyn Gausemel), we started literally at the bottom, and we've been chasing it for five years.

“It's just been awesome watching the growth over the five years to see where we started, and then each year, how we just continue to grow and excel,” added Brodeur. “This moment feels unreal.” The team of 10 Airmen are from various locations across the globe and joined together to compete in the exercise.

Four countries -- United States, France, Germany, and Great Britain -- participated in the international challenge with Team France coming out victorious.

Competing chefs were judged based on ACF guidelines, they were not competing against each other but against industry standards. Those who exceeded industry standards were given medals – 67 gold medals, 81 silver medals and 64 bronze medals were presented to military chefs who met the judging criteria.

The awardees were:

Culinary Team of the Year: Air Force

Runner up: Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Armed Forces Chef of the Year: Sgt. 1st Class William Pelkey, Fort Hood

Armed Forces Student Chef of the Year – under three years’ experience: Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Trenton Ortiz, U.S. Coast Guard

Enlisted Aide of the Year: Master Sgt. Viviana Chalfonte, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa. Chalfonte serves as the enlisted aide to Lt. Gen. Jason Hinds, commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; commander, U.S. Air Forces Africa; commander, Allied Air Command, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and director, Joint Air Power Competence Centre, Kalkar, Germany.

Student Team Competition – five-person team with under three years’ experience: Navy

International Team of the Year: Team France

Operational Hot Food Kitchen – 10-person team utilizing an Army mobile kitchen trailer and an assault kitchen, preparing a five-course meal for 50 guests using operational rations: Fort Hood

Nutritional Hot Food Challenge – celebrates National Nutrition Month with a four-course meal under 1,000 calories: Senior Master Sgt. Jacquelyn Gausemel and Master Sgt. Megan Rodgers, Air Force

Pastry Chef of the Year: Master Sgt. Daniel Thompson, Air Force

Student Pastry Chef of the Year – under three years’ experience: Spc. Carolina Sanchez-Lozano, Fort Hood

Best Exhibit (Categories A,B,C, Cold Food Display): Tech. Sgt. Luis Serrano-Mattos, Air Force

Best Exhibit in Show (Cat. D, Culinary Showpiece): Master Sgt. Justin Chase, Fort Lee

Best Team Display Table: Air Force

“As we close, we are not simply ending a competition – we are celebrating a half-century of excellence, innovation and unwavering commitment to the warfighter,” said Agness “For 50 years, this event has stood as proof that excellence is not born in comfort -- it’s forged through discipline, through teamwork and through the relentless pursuit of mastery”

The 50th JCTE was about improving readiness of the armed forces. The competing military members honed their skills as culinary specialists to improve the quality of food services to their home units, enabling them to better perform their duties at home and in a tactical environment.

Photos of the exercise can be found at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/CASCPA