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    Cooking Up The Competition

    NEWPORT NEWS, VA, UNITED STATES

    03.18.2020

    Story by Seaman Apprentice Preston Cash 

    USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73)

    NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - (March 11, 2020) Sailors from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) recently competed in the 45th annual Joint Culinary Training Exercise (JCTE) held at the MacLaughlin Fitness Center at Fort Lee in Virginia.
    The JCTE is the largest annual armed forces culinary competition put on by the American Culinary Federation, which promotes the top military cooks across the globe. It brings together a competitive spirit, as well as camaraderie amongst some of the military’s top chefs.
    “George Washington was fortunate enough to have two applicants,” said Lt. Evan Bloxham, the principal assistant for services aboard George Washington. Those applicants were Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Benjamin Hampton and Culinary Specialist Seaman Nakia Lanee.
    “It’s a popular competition within the culinary teams of all the armed forces,” said Chief Culinary Specialist Jose Valencia, the leading chief petty officer of the general mess division in supply department aboard George Washington. “It’s an opportunity for some of the young Sailors to show and display their talents in the culinary arts.”
    Before Sailors are afforded the opportunity to display those talents for the judges, however, they must apply and be selected to the program. Starting last fall, Sailors such as Hampton and Lanee traveled to local military bases to create dishes and get graded by U.S. Navy culinary specialist chief petty officers using select ingredients.
    Traveling to Naval Station Norfolk for her competition, Lanee was provided chicken, potatoes, and carrots. Using those ingredients, as well as some seasonings, Lanee made chicken curry. The chiefs liked her meal so much, they selected her to move on.
    Once the Sailors were selected in the first stage, they traveled to Fort Pickett, a Virginia Army National Guard installation, for a nearly two-month long training course in preparation for the upcoming competition at Fort Lee.
    During training, the applicants learned many techniques to help them with the competition. These techniques included properly cutting vegetables, menu development, and the proper way to prepare meat, known as fabrication.
    The Sailors were humbled and happy for the opportunity to take part in the program and competitions while representing George Washington.
    “I didn’t know I was getting selected,” said Hampton. “My chief came up to me one day and was like, ‘hey would you be interested in this’ and I was like, ‘absolutely. Sign me up.’”
    “I was happy I was selected,” said Lanee. “I was a little nervous at first at what I was getting myself into, but it was nice.”
    Like Lanee, Hampton was also grateful to be afforded the opportunity to challenge himself and hone his culinary talents.
    “I’ve had a good, successful couple of years with the Navy so far, and this is just the next step above,” said Hampton. “It’s humbling to be here.”
    During the final competition at Fort Lee, George Washington Sailors competed as part of the Student Team of the Year category, where each member was responsible for a section of the overall dish. Lanee was responsible for the salad, collard greens, and mashed potatoes while Hampton worked on the peach cobbler.
    The competitive spirit made the cooking a little more hectic than Lanee and Hampton were typically used to.
    “You had a schedule you needed to stick to, and if you don’t stick to it, you get points taken away, but I’m very proud of myself and the people I worked with,” said Lanee. “They became really great friends of mine. We put a lot into it, and I’m proud at what we accomplished.”
    “We kind of butted heads a little bit as all teams do, but we worked around that,” said Hampton.
    Lanee and Hampton made a great name for George Washington’s supply department, especially the culinary specialists, and their outstanding performance was recognized and appreciated by their divisional leadership.
    “There’s nothing better than seeing your Sailors succeed in what they like, and be able to push them to where they want to be,” said Valencia. “Maybe not exactly where they want to be, but maybe where they never thought they could be.”
    Despite the differences in the equipment used during the training and competition, Lanee hopes to take what she has learned in the past couple of months and help everyone back at George Washington.
    The day following the competition, the winners were announced. Lanee and Hampton received a bronze medal for Student Team of the Year and the U.S. Navy placing fourth overall with 15 medals total.

    Join the conversation with GW online at www.facebook.com/USSGW, www.instagram.com/ussgw, and www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73. For more news from USS George Washington, visit www. Navy.mil/local/cvn73/.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.18.2020
    Date Posted: 05.04.2020 11:07
    Story ID: 365446
    Location: NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US

    Web Views: 27
    Downloads: 1

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