Students dish it up at 'Iron Chef' competition Published Oct. 18, 2011 By 2nd Lt. Leanne Caballer 17th Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Eight teams gathered in the Crossroads Student Center ready to chop, sauté and bake their way to the finals during Goodfellow's rendition of "Iron Chef" on Oct. 15. The final showdown is slated for Oct. 22 with judging for the semi-finals at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and the finals at 5 p.m. This is the second time the base presented the cooking challenge -- the first took place in April with a team from the 315th Training Squadron taking first place. Advancing to the finals this time are teams: 341, Honor Grads, Tu Madre and Firedawgs - all made up of students from the 17th Training Group and 344th Military Intelligence Battalion. "It's a great event for students with cooking talents to display their creativity," said Chaplain (Capt.) Joel Kornegay, the event's coordinator. The competition has two teams competing at a time. Each team has an hour to prepare three dishes, each incorporating a "secret ingredient." Some of the "secret ingredients" during the Oct. 15 competition were cream cheese, corned beef and phyllo dough. At the end of the hour, judges for round one - comprised of military training leaders and training squadron representatives - provided feedback and rated the teams' dishes on taste, creativity and originality. Tech. Sgt. Randal Brooks, was one of the judges and said he was amazed at how the teams were able to think outside the box. "I was very surprised when the teams were tasked to use corn beef hash as an ingredient and they did so in an actual dessert," Brooks said. "Who would have thought that corn beef hash and dessert would be used in the same sentence?" These innovative cooks also get an opportunity to impress wing leaders with their culinary skills this weekend. With wing leaders judging the finals on Oct. 22, Chaplain Kornegay said the competition provides a medium to allow leaders to get out and be around students. "It's also a great opportunity for senior leaders on the base to interact with students in an informal environment," he added. The advancing finalists from the Oct. 15 competition are teams: 341, Honor Grads, Tu Madre and Firedawgs. Team 341: Airman 1st Class Michael Leon, Airman 1st Class Daniel Hoang and Airman 1st Class Kyle Baldwin Team Honor Grads: Airman Donald Moon and Airman Basic Jack Owen. Team Tu Madre: Airman 1st Class Julio Alvarado and Airman 1st Class Shawna Edwards. Team Firedawgs: Army Pfc. Joshua Griffin, Airman Basic Isaac Sunnock and Airman Basic Bretho Danzy.
