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WHITING COOKING COMPETITION SHOWS OFF SENIORS' CULINARY SKILLS
By Jo Ann La Russo
 | | --Photo By Jo Ann La Russo The Blue Team shows off their competition-winning dish at The Pines in Whiting. |
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It isn't just about chicken croquettes anymore, said Sodexo executive chef Rob Noble as he prepared to kick off the Aluminum Chef Culinary competition last week.
The cook-off was designed to demonstrate creative and healthy approaches to preparing exciting meals for modern senior lifestyles.
The competition, held Wednesday at The Pines in Whiting, featured four culinary teams, each with an executive chef from Sodexo, The Pines' food and facilities management company, a cook from The Pines, a staff member from The Pines, and a resident assistant to assist with presentation of the dishes.
The Red, Blue, Silver and Black teams fired up the grills and prepared delicious tasting dishes using abundant amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, which all made for healthy eating.
The panel of judges included a Pines resident Edna Frederick, General Mills corporate chef Troy Handeland, Crestwood Sun newspaper editor Karen Mohr and Pines staff members Melissa Clark and Ron Hyland.
Along with the actual cooking competition and the judgment session, the day's events also included an explanation from the General Mills executive chef on how to taste food from an evaluation standpoint.
At The Pines kitchen, the final judging would take place at 1 p.m. To make things more interesting, Scott Bencze, Pines' executive chef and organizer of the competition, informed team members that they would be expected to come up with a choice of salad or appetizer to accompany their chosen entrée.
Each team chose their main entrée from a choice of whole chicken, flatiron steak, pork tenderloin and Chilean sea bass, and was given an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables to compliment their own spices and special ingredients.
"The purpose of this event is to let our residents experience new flavors and demonstrate that cooking is another opportunity to enjoy an active senior lifestyle," said Clark, The Pines' activities director.
During the day-long competition, Pines residents were excited at the day's events.
"Everything looks beautiful and delicious," said Shirley Pierce.
"I love good food and I hate to cook," said Rose Saulina, happy at the sight of all the dishes being prepared.
Resident George Van Dillen sat quietly observing the commotion. "This is wonderful," he exclaimed as he looked over a huge dessert platter piled high with petit fours and small cakes.
"They always do unusual things here," stated resident Pearl Vamosy. "Everything smells so good," she added as wafts of Marsala wine filled the presentation room.
The four teams were hard at work to accomplish their goals. Each presentation to judges looked more beautiful than the last. In between bites, the judges commented. "I'm amazed that they prepared things so quickly. It looks so appealing and the ingredients blend so well," said Frederick, who is also the food committee chair at The Pines.
"You can see all the hard work that was put into the dishes," said Hyland.
At the afternoon's end, the Blue Team was chosen as the winner with a menu that started with an appetizer of roasted butternut squash soup with crouton and melted Swiss cheese. Their winning entree was a roasted chicken dish covered in a wild mushroom cream sauce and accompanied by Israeli Cous Cous with pine nuts and Ratatouille.
"This is an exciting day and a great way to energize the residents in the community. There's plenty of good food and the chefs are excited to demonstrate their abilities," said Sodexo Senior Vice President Peter Pedone.
"The cooking competition is a great success," added the company's district manager, Gino Ditrolo.
Bill Jansen, The Pines CEO, watched the activities as chefs offered samples to residents.
"Our residents always have a great time at these events," he said.
Shaneika Johnson, food service director at The Pines, said, "The Aluminum Chef Competition was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Not only did everyone participate and enjoy watching the event, but it really showcased the skilled culinary talent that supports the dining experience in senior adult communities throughout the region."
When all the dishes were gathered together for final preparation in front of residents and judges, The Pines television crew projected the cooking skills of each team on a movie screen in the presentation room. Handeland opened this phase of the food battle with an educational session on what to look for in creative cooking.
Enthusiasm was kicked up a notch when the teams presented their meal to the panel to sample and score. The judges took their time tasting so as to get a feel for the unique flavor of each dish.
There was tension in the air as the panel of judges tabulated their results and applause and shouts filled the room when the results were announced.
Afterward, Clark admitted that deciding on only one winner was difficult. "Everything was absolutely delicious," she said.
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