Schofield Barracks chefs show off winning ways in military, civilian contests

Army chow and classic French cuisine may seem like opposite ends of the food chain, but don’t tell that to the chefs at Schofield Barracks. They’ve won a Culinary Team of the Year title for four years straight in a competition for all branches of the military service.

Cooks in the military have come a long way from slapping heaps of whatever-it-is onto hundreds of tin trays for the grumbling masses. The foodie craze has infiltrated the U.S. Armed Forces, as it has everything else, and more attention is being paid to quality over quantity, team leaders said.

Cooks are learning skills that can carry them far in the professional food industry once out of uniform. The lucky ones are learning all aspects of fine dining, down to setting the table and up to mastering classic French techniques.

In mid-March Team Hawaii beat 29 other military teams from all over the world at the 43rd-annual Joint Culinary Training Exercise at Fort Lee, Va., the largest American Culinary Federation-sanctioned competition in North America.

The team trains at the culinary lab at Schofield regularly, practicing for the nationals in July in New Orleans, where they’ll compete against civilian teams led by top chefs with 15 to 20 years of experience. Hawaii placed fourth in 2016 and third in 2017 at the nationals.

Team Hawaii is made up of five students and five professional chefs, chosen after yearly tryouts in October. Most of the members this year are stationed at Scho­field, but there’s one Naval petty officer from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The team brought back 13 gold medals, seven silver and one bronze at the Fort Lee event, administered by the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence. They impressed judges with a mean Rabbit Ballotine (think: stuffed, rolled and tied into a bundle), and Oeufs ala Neige (small meringues floating on creme anglaise), among other gems that are as tricky to pronounce as they are to stir up.

The Navy’s Steven Cholewka won an individual gold for a complex menu featuring braised duck with crispy skin, a Navy bean (naturally) duck cassoulet and potatoes au gratin.

A JUDGE at the Fort Lee competition, Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Wisniewski said Hawaii’s “cold table,” composed of 30 dishes on a buffet, also scored the highest in the competition.

“The table presented a clean look with quality products. The rest of the categories they consistently scored high in, producing favorable food that was eye-appealing while working clean in the kitchen.”

Officer in Command Shemika Harris said the idea behind the training is to prepare the military personnel for employment as certified culinarians under American Culinary Federation standards. Even their occupational labels have been upgraded because “it looks a lot better on their resume to list ‘culinary specialist,’” than mere “cooks” or “food specialists,” Harris added.

PROVIDING QUALITY nutrition that also tastes good is a basic morale booster for the troops —“It just makes sense,” said First Lt. Ryan DeBooy, deputy public affairs officer at Schofield. That doesn’t mean there’s now gourmet food in the D-FACs (dining facilities), but there’s a lot more effort to punch up the usual spaghetti and stew with fresher seasonings and ingredients, and to make meals more attractive to the eye, he said.

All branches of the military take part in cooking competitions to sharpen qualities required of anyone in the service — being resourceful and adaptive, DeBooy added.

Sgt. First Class Jose Alves, who was in charge of training the team for two years, used to cook for 300 to 400 soldiers per meal, but wanted to learn to make more sophisticated fare. Two years ago he became a certified executive chef, as rated by the American Culinary Federation.

It’s normally an expensive process to earn these credentials, so Alves said he appreciates the opportunity the Army provided. He hopes to get a teaching or restaurant position once he retires from the service.

Alves said he is one of only 23 certified executive chefs in the entire Army, and one of two in Hawaii — the other is Team Hawaii’s manager, Sgt. Renie Arana.

In January Alves was promoted to personal chef for Schofield’s Maj. Gen. Ronald Clark, but was allowed to compete in the March contest. His duties now include making Clark’s simple daily menu, as well as fine cuisine for the brigade staff during special events.

(Several years prior to his service in Hawaii, Alves was personal chef to retired Gen. John F. Kelly, now the White House chief of staff.)

Staff Sgt. Jerald Bonkowski, one of the chefs now in charge of training, said the team’s professional chefs are working toward sous-chef certification, and the students are aiming to become certified culinarians after the nationals in July.

THOSE WHO learn advanced culinary skills return to their dining facilities to “show other soldiers how to change a recipe a bit just by adding seasonings, or cooking it a different way to bring out the flavors,” Bonkowski said. As a result, mess halls nationwide are using a lot more fresh ingredients over dry herbs, and adding different garnishes and sauces to boost meal appeal.

Ewa Beach native Pfc. Joe Malubay learned to make goat cheese quiche as part of a salad course for the competition, and it has become his favorite thing.

“Whatever I learn, I bring it home for my wife and family.”

Although he worked in a restaurant before joining the Army two years ago, Malubay never considered cooking as a career. The culinary program, however, has stimulated an undiscovered appetite.

“It was: ‘Wow, I’ve never seen this kind of stuff before.’”

Now he’s using varied seasonings besides salt and pepper to spice things up.

Spc. Ryan Salazar of Houston became an expert at making a chicken breast stuffed with leeks and shallots for the contest, and prepares the dish and others he’s learned for his own family — “they’re amazed.”

Salazar has been cooking since age 15, and is known for his Mexican-fusion specialties. He’s dreamed of becoming a chef since he was a kid, “and look at me now!” Salazar said.

“Being in this culinary program has opened many doors for me.”