A Navy culinary specialist was the winner of the Army vs. Navy Cook-off at the 101st Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Jan. 12.

Culinary Specialist 1st Class Patrick Parigi led a team of local media personalities to create a fresh pasta dish tossed with mushrooms, sliced beef round and marinated veal served with a salad made from apples.

Each team was surprised with the main Pennsylvania-sourced ingredients. Some the ingredients were beef top round, boneless veal, red Russian kale, fresh pasta, mushrooms, smoked gouda cheese, and apples. Both teams had access to common pantry items. They were given 30 minutes to prepare the most appealing dish.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is held every January at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg. It is the largest indoor agricultural event in the United States, offering 24 acres of exhibition space under one roof. The event attracts more than half a million visitors every year.

A team of four judges rated the dishes based on taste, presentation, harmony of ingredients, visual appeal, and originality. The judges stated the Navy had a dish where the favors worked together and herbal blends and texture were smooth. They also pulled the proteins together which was one of the bigger challenges.

"The Navy's more than 8,000 culinary specialists, also known as chefs, annually prepare more than 80 million wholesome meals. They cook meals for Sailors on ships and ashore, to include private messes, Camp David and the White House," said Capt. Robert Williams, Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP), director of Fleet Services Support. "This ensures our Sailors are well nourished to operate at peak performance. They also prepare meals for special occasions, which provide an opportunity for Navy families to enjoy."

"Nowadays, we train our chefs to not only be qualified, but to be innovative, too. These special skills are taught by some of the world's finest civilian chefs from around the world," Williams added. "Sometimes, the best part of a Sailor's day is when he or she gets to take a break and sit down for a well-balanced, nutritional meal. We want that meal to be one that really contributes to their quality-of-life, no matter where they are located in the world."

NAVSUP provides U.S. naval forces with quality supplies and services. With headquarters in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP oversees logistics programs in the areas of supply operations, conventional ordnance, contracting, resale, fuel, transportation, and security assistance. In addition, NAVSUP is responsible for quality-of-life issues for our naval forces, including food service, postal services, Navy Exchanges, and movement of household goods.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.