THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502150091
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Morsels
SOURCE: Ruth Fantasia
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
FLOUR plops onto the toes of Joseph Groth's black work boots as he rolls pasta at the low, stainless-steel table.
``Anybody can use a pasta machine,'' he says, going over and over the dough with a 1 1/2-inch dowel. ``But why use one if you can show a some skill?''
Skill is what Groth and four other Johnson & Wales University students hoped to build when they competed recently in the American Culinary Federation Junior Regional Hot Food Competition.
The annual contest, this year held Feb. 2 to 5 in Greenville, S.C., tests the talents of 13 teams from the Southeast. And they aren't judged merely on the taste of the food they prepare.
Each team must show proficiency in organization, cleanliness, timing, efficient use of ingredients, balanced nutrient content, acceptable portion size, creativity and flavor - as if they were held accountable by a stern health inspector and a tight-fisted restaurateur.
It's a tough job, even for a group of seasoned chefs with a planned menu. But team members don't even know what the primary ingredients will be until they walk through the contest kitchen doors. Then, the team has four hours to devise a menu and prepare it for a party of 10.
At this practice session on a cold January night, the team is relaxed and jovial.
A white towel sails across the kitchen and is caught in midair. Chunks of dark chocolate stand at the ready, along with a quart of vanilla extract and 45 ounces of cinnamon.
Student Mike Rossi spreads Dijon batter in perfect little circles on parchment paper. Jahn Sawinski prepares red-pepper puree, and Denice Moran uses a template to make spoon-shaped cookies.
Chef-instructor and coach Art Elvins playfully chides Groth about the flour on the floor, and on his nose.
This is the second year Elvins has taken a team to competition. Last year's group placed third but brought home a gold medal for maintaining 36 out of a possible 40 points. This group set its sights on first place and a shot at the national competition in New York in July.
``I never thought I'd be disappointed with a gold medal, but I was,'' says Groth, who competed last year.
Sawinski and Moran competed last year, too. The three know what they're up against.
``This is meant to be a meal you'd serve once in a lifetime,'' Sawinski says.
``Most cooks can take an expensive cut of meat and do something good. The challenge is to take the less expensive cut and cook it in the manner that is best,'' Moran says.
Although Groth's hand-rolled ravioli are stuffed with lobster, odds are the pricey seafood won't show up at competition.
``They'll give us less expensive proteins, like chicken or pork,'' Elvins says. So the team works with a little of everything to devise menus. But this is the last practice to play. The next week is dress rehearsal, and Elvins has invited two top chefs to act as judges. Under watchful eyes
Frederick Teiss, executive chef at the Founders Inn in Virginia Beach, watches from across the table as Groth strips chicken of the meat and skin and prepares it for sausage. The scraps go in a bowl labeled ``broth.''
Groth's black boots are clean. So is his apron, but sweat is beading on his forehead.
``There are some that are so nervous, their hands are shaking,'' says Reimund Pitz, the executive chef for Walt Disney World MGM Studios.
Pitz, who sports a gold 1992 USA Culinary Team ring, helps select and train judges for competition. He's been flown up from Florida to try and give the team an edge.
``It's like a Rolex,'' Pitz says. ``Precision timing is the key to ultimate success.''
``As team captain, your job is to keep an eye on the clock,'' Pitz tells Sawinski.
A Mickey Mouse appliqued on the yellow shirt peeks out from under his chef's coat as Pitz tears through the kitchen.
The sanitation water is too dirty. A chunk of zucchini in the stock bowl is too big to be waste. There are bits of grime on a knife box under the table. The food processor sat out too long after use.
``When you go there, you have a perfect score,'' he says. ``It's up to you to keep it.''
Pitz says the team has the fundamentals down.
``They just lose focus and start thinking about the time. It keeps them from being perfect.''
It's the education that's important, Pitz says. ``Regardless of how well or how bad you do, you're a winner.'' The big day
In Greenville, the mystery box of ingredients holds chicken, greens, root vegetables and a slightly unexpected beef roast.
The team of four (with alternate Shannon Burks washing pots) whips up a once-in-a-lifetime meal of Empanada With Chicken Sausage and Confit of Onion; Dijon Crepe Baskets With Chiffonade of Spinach and Romaine Topped With Balsamic Vinaigrette and a Shallot Blossom; Stuffed Inside Round With Diced Root Vegetables and Au Jus; Garlic Mashed Potatoes With Carrots and Turnips; and Bread Pudding With Coffee Creme Anglaise and Diced Apple Relish.
The salad and dessert courses garner perfect scores. The sanitation scores are excellent. And, thanks to Pitz, this is the only team competing with a lap-top computer to check ingredient inventory and nutritional analyses.
Yet they come home shy of their goal.
The score: 35.8, enough for third place and a silver medal. The first place Junior ACF team from Puerto Rico scored 36.5.
``The learning experience is just as good as a gold medal,'' Elvins says later. ``And we have a cold food competition in a few weeks, so they're looking forward.'' ILLUSTRATION: D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff photos
Joseph Groth gets pointers from a chef during a trial run for the
regional hot-meal competition in Greenville, S.C.
As a practice run, Johnson & Wales students cook a four-course meal
for 10 people.
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff photo
Reimund Pitz, left, gives a pointer to student chef Jahn Sawinski as
Fred Tiess listens in.
by CNB