A team of 11 Navy culinary specialists showcased their talents in the 43rd Annual Joint Culinary Training Exercise March 10-15, at Fort Lee, Virginia.

The team was one of 26 from across all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and several foreign militaries who demonstrated expertise in food preparation.

Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Steven Cholewka, who represented a Navy detachment assigned in Hawaii, earned three gold medals in the contemporary cooking competition.

"Hopefully winning this will open up some doors for me in the near future," said Cholewka, adding that he plans to one day obtain a sous-chef certification.

Hosted by the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence at Fort Lee, the JCT is the largest ACF-sanctioned competition in North America. Its format models that of the World Culinary Olympics held every four years in Erfurt, Germany.

The yearly exercise aims to promote growth in the culinary profession with special attention to the tenets of modern culinary development-ability, practicality, nutrition, workmanship, economy, presentation, creativity, and concept.

"Being challenged and exposed at such a high professional level helps our Culinary Specialists strengthen their skills for mission success," said Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Command Master Chief Thaddeus Wright. "All of our participants have reached a personal and professional milestone that they will carry for the rest of their careers. This opportunity provides a great return on investment for our Navy and the Warfighter."

The six-day event featured several exercise categories including a nutrition hot food challenge, mobile kitchen trailer event and live cooking demonstrations of seafood, wild game and edible centerpieces.

More than a dozen culinary experts from the American Culinary Federation volunteered time to provide feedback and critique to the participants regarding food handling, presentation, sanitation, culinary technique and utilization of ingredients. The volunteers also served as judges who selected winners in each category.

"We are not here to criticize (the participants). We are here to help," said Roland E. Schaeffer, one of the ACF-approved culinary judges. "We want to make them better cooks and professionals."

Not only did the exercise provide participants the opportunity to improve on their culinary skills, the Sailors can use what they learn to advance their culinary careers in and out of the Navy.

"I have seen a lot of cooks make connections from this competition and then line up a job for themselves after they leave the military," said Schaeffer.

Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter.

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