Twas the week after Christmas and all through the school, not a creature was stirring, save security and a certain culinary team that competed for the state title in mid-January.
Although our school lacks a kitchen stadium, and neither the Chairman nor Alton Brown were in attendance, Madison College still played host to over 30 solo competitors and teams at the Wisconsin State Cooking Competition.
The three-day event began on Friday, Jan. 13, with the solo contemporary class and the solo mystery baskets, known as Ks and F1s respectively. The K class is simple: competitors have 75 minutes to make four portions of a pre-planned entrée.
The K class is an excellent gauge of a chef’s skill in planning because it removes many variables, which could otherwise spoil an excellent performance. You have total control over your meal and what you cook.
The F1 category is a little bit dif- ferent. At the beginning a chef is given a box of items, then they have half an hour to identify those items and design a four-course menu using them. The chefs can utilize other ingredients, but everything in the box must be used in the meal.
The first two days of the competition involved mystery boxes and items ranged from the mundane to the outlandish; mussels, ducks, rock hens, guava, and red bananas were just a few of things chefs had to utilize. In the K category, chefs practice their dish upwards of 10 times getting the timing and the taste perfect. The mystery boxes add an element of surprise, which tests a chef’s ability to adapt and change to new circumstances.
The second day was similar to the first; it had more Ks and F1s but it also has some F2s, which are two person mystery boxes. They have the challenge of creating eight plates per course, as opposed to the four in a solo mystery box. Four of the plates are served to a table of customers. Jack Hart, head of the Hospitality program, was one of those lucky guests and had glowing reviews of his meal.
“I’m not usually a fan of trout but the first course was excellent, it was a small portion that was still very moist and not at all overcooked which is difficult. They also presented and prepared exotic ingredients like yucca root in a way that was very attractive which is good for people who have never tried it.”
He dined on food made by Ben Coggin and Josh Rose, two chefs who work at the Verona-based software company Epic. Jack also noted that the Chefs are not used to the creativity that they were allowed in this competition, which speaks highly of their skills. Ben and Josh received the highest score of all the F2s.
After two intense days of cooking, things started heating up with Sunday’s main event. Five teams from as far away as Kansas competed in the student competition. The teams hailed from Nebraska, Kansas, and Illinois, including just two teams from Wisconsin, Fox Valley and the Madison College culinary team.
The competition is in two sections; one is a skill salon in which competitors display their knife and butchery skills in an 80-minute relay race of cooking. The second part is the hot food competition, which is another four-course meal prepared by all five team members in 90 minutes. The competition was close with Johnson Creek Community College from Kansas taking first place, and the Madison College Culinary Team taking second. The second-place finish means the Madison College Team is going to the Central competition in Detroit!