Competition is Healthy for Chefs
Competition teaches a chef to improvise, keep one’s composure, and work methodically when working against the clock and other talented competitors. It is also an exercise on dedicated to practice their skills and hone them. This allows a chef to work faster, while still keeping the standards and quality of the dish high. Competition fosters camaraderie and puts to the test organization, skills, creativity, and the ability to be resilient. It teaches students to use critique to improve upon themselves and their food instead of bringing them down. After the culmination, competitions give them a sense of accomplishment and pride that will give them the drive to continue to the next, more intense level of competition.
On Thursday, June 25, 2009, our students entered our Fourth Annual BBQ rib competition. The pressure was intense, while the participants prepared their entries. They all worked methodically, and swiftly. Most of them admitted to having practiced their recipes every day and having dined on ribs for the last few weeks. The competitors were confident and the fight against the clock and their colleagues was a welcome challenge.
Students presented the judges with a unique preparation of BBQ baby back ribs and the judges were impressed by the results. The panel of judges was made up of local chefs.
Fellow students supported the contestants while feasting on BBQ prepared in the culinary courses and served as a farewell lunch and dinner for students leaving on summer break. Students and faculty cheered as the winners were announced. Chef Said Shehadeh, who organized the competition, announced Carlos Betancourt as the 1st place winner for the morning competitors and reminded the students, this is the year we get our pig trophy back.
The first and second place winners of each round of competition (morning and evening) will become the team that will represent Le Cordon Bleu Miami at the Fourth Annual Rib Cook-off. We will go up against competitors from Florida International University, Johnson and Wales, The Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, and the Florida Culinary Institute. The first two years of the competition, our students were awarded first place and brought home the pig trophy. Last year, however, the trophy was won by the participants representing Florida International University.
After returning from summer break, the team of four will come together with Chef Shehadeh and practice the preparation of the ribs that will become the winning dish of the Rib Cook-off. In October of 2009, the four students will beat the pressure, the clock, and the other teams to bring the pig back to its home at Le Cordon Bleu Miami.
The timed preparation made the competitors nervous and filled them with adrenaline, which allowed them to get through the competition having completed a good dish. The support of their fellow classmates was the perfect display of camaraderie as cheers exploded when the winners were announced. Most importantly, this competition allowed them to accomplish something many thought they could have done before. This was one of the first competitions these students were able to compete in and having done so makes them, already, better prepared to become successful chefs.