Staff Sergeant Kevin Christiansen applied his 15 yrs of experience cooking in numerous cafe kitchens to provide property the bragging rights in Fort Campbell’s culinary levels of competition in the course of 7 days of the Eagles.
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Considerably like the cooking exhibit “Chopped” on Food Network, contestants had been offered mystery baskets filled with numerous food objects. They have been tasked with placing those people elements with each other into a cohesive dishes to impress three judges.
Christiansen and a few other folks confronted off in the finals immediately after the level of competition began with 16 contestants.
Although he is not classically experienced, Christiansen amazed the judges by sending out an appetizer round plate that would rival people on Meals Community.
“Presentation is likely half the struggle,” he spelled out. “I considered in advance of time of what I could do that was form of uniform, since I failed to know what to hope.”
In the 30-minute appetizer round, all the cooks were being thrown a curveball in the variety of a very little-utilized fish identified as the Dover Sole, most popular to the Mediterranean and North Sea.
Prior to the spherical, they have been provided a probability to check out how to appropriately filet the rarely used protein.
From there, the team was tasked with pairing the fish with snack-dimensions difficult pretzels and tomatillos.
It was a challenge for anyone, together with Sergeant Jamal Spruill, a cook with the navy. He would go on to finish 3rd in the levels of competition.
Finishing next to Christiansen was Captain Carol Jaksec, a household cook who joined the opposition to check her expertise.
Even though none of the cooks had ever dealt with Dover Sole, Jaksec was pressured to deal with a bit of adversity at her station as she tried to switch her tomatillos into a salsa during the 1st spherical.
“I’ve under no circumstances made use of them prior to,” Jaksec stated of the tomatillos. “I have usually heard tomatillo salsa, but the blender did not do the job.”
Contemplating on her ft, Jaksec made a decision to transform her blended salsa into a chunky salsa.
Most people kind of went in the exact path, according to Jason Page, main warrant officer and senior food advisor for Fort Campbell.
“The a person that stood out was Sergeant Christiansen, who manufactured the coconut fried fish together with the raspberry sauce beneath,” Website page said. “It was truly rather great.”
Web site claimed all the cooks dealt with the fish nicely.
Michelle Owenby was removed following the appetizer spherical simply because she unsuccessful to insert a dressing to her salad.
In the entrée round, the cooks were being given flank steak, turnip greens and tri-color quinoa.
The dessert finals featured Christiansen and Jaksec.
He won just after the two built dishes featuring honey mangos, chocolate chips and animal crackers.
Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @Craig_Shoup. To assistance his function, sign up for a digital membership to TheLeafChronicle.com.
This posting originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Fort Campbell’s Week of the Eagles turns up warmth in cooking level of competition
