Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Sarah Mattison | Students from the Randolph Technical Career Center pose for a group photo, after...... read more read more
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JERICHO, Vt. - What do chicken fajitas, beef stew, chicken with noodles and chili and macaroni have in common? Each is dinning option from the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) menu and they were also the secret ingredients in the “Iron Chef: MRE” challenge at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vt. during the186th Brigade Support Battalion, Vermont Army National Guard’s annual winter training.
“Every year the Army has a competition called the Connelly, which is for the food service section,” said Sgt. 1st Class Reuben Ouellette, a cook with the 186th BSB Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC). “This competition involves all aspects of food service, from paperwork to setting up and cooking Mobil Kitchen Trailers (MKTs). I thought it would be a morale builder by having the cooks prep an MRE, change it, plate it up, present it in an appealing way and to have a friendly competition.”
In addition to training, the Soldiers from the 186th BSB had an opportunity to showcase their skills and team-up with local culinary students from the Randolph Technical Career Center (RTCC).
“The purpose of this event was to teach garnishing and how to plate the food in an appealing way; most people eat with their eyes and if its not appealing to the eye, most won’t try it,” said Ouellette. “I have been holding this competition for about seven years now and this is the first year we have invited a culinary class from a high school to participate. It is important for our Soldiers to interact with the community, so that they know what it is that we do for training.”
Nine students from RTCC teamed up with four Soldiers, splitting into four different teams; the Falcons, the Warriors, Beefalicious and team Brownie. The actual competition comprised of three parts: preparation of the food, presentation to the board and a question and answer segment. After a safety briefing on the use of MKTs, each team was then given two of the same MREs (selected at random), an hour to prepare a plated dish utilizing ingredients from the MREs and any food and resources they could find in the MKTs.
“Not only does this event give the Soldiers an opportunity to showcase their skills, it also provides the Soldier the chance to mentor young students. The students can become familiar with what it means to be a member of the Vermont Army National Guard,” said Capt. Therese Farrell, Recruiting and Retention Officer for the 186th BSB. “Providing opportunities for our Soldiers to interact with civilians and bridging the gap between the two is always a good thing. It also showcases a low-density Military Occupational Specialty that often does not get as much press as the infantry or other combat MOSs.”
“I enjoyed getting to participate in this event, it was a new life experience for me,” said Caleb Warren, a senior at RTCC. “I have never worked with an MRE before and it was very enjoyable learning something new to do, creating something original on the spot.
“I really liked our dish, it was good,” said Warren. “Something that I would have done differently though is add more garnishing and maybe change up the flavor a bit. We worked with the Chicken Fajita meal and it was a little bland at first; but we added salt, pepper and lemon in addition to incorporating bacon and more chicken to the main dish. For our dessert, our MRE came with a brownie and we added apples, cinnamon and sugar to the top.”
“It was a cool experience working with a member of the National Guard,” said Warren. “I could definitely tell Spc. Selena Correa knew what she was doing. She had great ideas and was on top of her game; she knew what to do and what to add to the dish. It definitely helped to have someone there to share ideas. I would definitely want to do a competition like this again. I feel like it would be good if the school participated in this yearly, learning something new and making people think on the spot is just going to make us better.”
Kris Baran, a senior at RTCC, enlisted in the Vermont National Guard last September as a mechanic. Currently assigned to the Recruit Sustainment Program, he will leave for basic training following his high school graduation in June.
“My experience has been awesome since joining the Vermont National Guard,” said Baran. The best part about serving is creating bonds with other Soldiers and meeting people from different parts of the state. Getting to participate in this competition was a lot of fun too, I really enjoyed getting to work with other units and experiencing the different kinds of training that they do. What I found most challenging about the competition was trying to keep the food warm while traveling from the MKT to the building where we needed to present our dishes.”
After the hour was up, each dish’s temperature checked as part of the evaluation. Then each team took turns reporting to the board and presenting their dishes. In addition, they were each was asked a couple technical cooking questions, regarding the preparation of their meals.
“I think this event was a blast! It was different, it was new and it was exciting,” said Sharlene Larkin, a senior at RTCC. “Having only one microwave for all of the teams to share was challenging, but we managed. I think it was fun to team up with a member of the National Guard. It was a little scary at first meeting the board, but it was fun learning that the military has more to offer than what I expected.”
“What I like most about this event was that I got to experience something that most people don’t get to. It was my first time getting to see a National Guard base and it was a really cool experience,” said Benjamin Parrotte, a junior at RTCC. “Teaming up with a military member was helpful and really cool. It was nice to have somebody there that has worked with MREs before and it was a good experience to have someone that works in the military and enjoys cooking. It was a great experience and a lot of fun!”
Sgt. 1st. Class Andrew Courville, a recruiter with the Vermont Army National Guard and a judge for the competition said “As every team presented, we were all really surprised at each dish that came through. There’s not much that you can do with an MRE and they all presented some pretty amazing meals!”
The first place winners, team Brownie, presented a rice, corn and chicken dish topped with bacon, served with corn tortillas. For dessert they had a brownie covered with chopped apples, covered in a cinnamon sugar drizzle.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2015 16:16 |
| Story ID: | 160226 |
| Location: | JERICHO, VT, US |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 'Iron Chef' MRE, by SMSgt Sarah Mattison, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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