WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Food service Marines and civilian cooks at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., held their first Culinary Team of the Quarter Competition in the mess hall at the Barracks, Dec. 17.
The competition tested the teams’ culinary skills to see who could prepare a better meal.
On the Marine team was Sgt. Matthew Phillips and Cpl. Dominic Richburg, food service Marines at the Barracks. The civilian team had Xavier Miles and Joann Parker, food service workers at the Barracks.
The teams began preparing their meals at 6 a.m. Judging took place at noon.
Chicken adobo, chicken breast with spinach sauce, a shrimp appetizer, soup and cake were a few of the items on the menu for the judges to decide on. The food was judged on appearance, taste and temperature.
Judges were Sgt. Maj. Angela Maness, Barracks sergeant major; Lt. Col. Richard Kohler, commanding officer of Marine Corps Food Service and Assistance Program; and Mr. Frank Alanis, contracting officer representative. There was also a popular vote from Marines who eat at the mess hall.
“It was delicious,” said Cpl. Vanessa Rocha, administrative clerk at the Barracks. “They should definitely have the competition again sometime.”
The Marine team won the competition by a large margin, winning the vote of the judges and the mess hall patrons.
“It was exhilarating,” said Richburg. “Going against one of the most distinguished chefs in the mess hall, and defeating him in the competition, creates a feeling of pride and accomplishment that cannot be matched against anything I’ve ever experienced.”
The competition is held in various mess halls throughout the Corps. The Barracks mess hall plans to have another one of these competitions sometime in the future.