CS1 Wins "Chopped" Competition

NORFOLK (NNS) -- An instructor with the NAVSUP FLC Norfolk Navy Food Management Team, won a "Chopped" cooking competition at the Virginia Beach Convention Center April 26.

Cullinary Specialist 1st Class Jesse Wallace won the competition, which is modeled after the popular Food Network television program of the same name.

The event was sponsored by SYSCO.

Wallace competed against six other chefs from hotels, restaurants, and a supermarket in the Hampton Roads area. His fellow competitors all had very impressive resumes, but he knew he was up to the challenge.

All competitors were provided identical "mystery baskets" with four required ingredients that had to be used in their entrees. The chefs also had access, first come, first served, to a limited pantry with additional items they could choose from to add to their four required ingredients. The required ingredients were chicken breast, soup base, butternut squash, and roasted potatoes. They had 45 minutes to prepare the best entree they could imagine.

Wallace, who was personally invited by SYSCO to represent the Navy in the competition, didn't know at first what the end result would be. "I knew the first thing I had to do was just start grabbing whatever I could from the pantry," said Wallace. He went on to explain that if you first take the time to come up with a plan, you might not be able to find what you need in the pantry, resulting in wasted precious time. "I took the required ingredients out of my basket, and just started grabbing whatever I could. You don't have to use every item you take from the pantry, so I wanted to make sure I was prepared for whatever I decided to cook."

He wanted to make sure he didn't make an obviously safe choice, since the contestants are graded on their creativity in choosing an entree to prepare. He ended up choosing to present his take on a chicken taco. He was able to incorporate the soup base into a made from scratch pico de gallo. Instead of taco shells, he used grilled flatbread as the base for his chicken tacos. Healso sliced the butternut squash into thin matchstick-sized pieces, which he then sauteed and used as a crunchy topping for his tacos.

When the clock hit zero and the judging was complete, Wallace was named the champion. For his efforts, he won a cookbook signed by celebrity chef Robert Irvine, a gift basket filled with kitchen tools, a trophy, and - most important - bragging rights. "I competed in a similar competition last year, and had a bad experience then," said Wallace. "Winning this time really meant a lot."

The past year or so has been an eventful and very successful one for Wallace. He was able to participate in several high-visibility food demonstrations and other food-related events last year. He also was part of a winning chili and chowder cooking competition aboard Naval Station Norfolk. He hopes to be advanced to the rank of chief petty officer before leaving the command at the end of this year, when he will take his talents back to the fleet. There's one lucky ship out there somewhere that will soon have a top-notch chef. Wallace will find out in the next few months which one he will be reporting to.

For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/navsup/.