Aramark's Salute Hospitality hosts cooking competition at the Culinary Institute of America

Aramark’s Salute Hospitality hosted a “cooking battle” at the Culinary Institute of America, in which 11 airmen competed in a timed cooking competition. The event, dubbed the Salute Hospitality Epicurean Faceoff, required the competitors to prepare a meal, using only surprise ingredients from a mystery basket. The chefs had one hour and 40 minutes to prepare a creative dish. The judges then scored the chefs based on sanitation, taste, presentation and overall creativity. Once the time was up, each airman had the chance to present their meal and discuss the inspiration behind the dish.

The goal behind the event is energize and engage airmen in a fast-paced competition allowing them to demonstrate the culinary skills they’ve learned while training with Salute Hospitality executive chefs, according to a statement.

“Competitions like SHEF offer a valuable opportunity for Services airmen to showcase their talent and motivation in a first-class environment like the Culinary Institute of America," said Col. Chip Hollinger, Air Force Services Center, mission operations director. "Under the mentorship of culinary experts and industry partners, this unique partnership provides developmental opportunities that make our Services professionals stronger and more capable when they return to the Air Force food service programs they conduct. This improves the delivery of quality, nutritious meals to Airmen, Guardians, and their families that fuels the human weapon system, which is essential to peak operation of our power projection platforms.” 

The winner of the competition was Airman Sharon Villacres Baracaldo from Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

The winning dish was a salmon chorizo medley, topped with a creamy chorizo tomato sauce. The dish was inspired by Baracaldo’s favorite restaurant in New York. 

Coming in 2nd place was Chanel Soule from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

And scoring 3rd place was Petisha Helgenberger from Little Rock, AR. 

"Salute Hospitality is incredibly proud of the impact our SHEF Competition has had on the U.S. Air Force culinary program. Hosting this event in San Antonio allowed us to energize and engage the talented airmen representing Aramark’s Air Force base portfolio and showcase the exceptional culinary skills they’ve developed through daily duties and extensive training," said Kimberly Graves, marketing director at Aramark Salute Hospitality. "The high stakes cook-off not only highlighted their adaptability and creativity but also underscored our commitment to creating customized experiences that fuel the futures of those who serve our nation.”