European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Military chefs win haute honors culinary skills earn two medals in International Competition for Sis my rial sch for dial re in tha so tvs medal winning regional Buffet surround flags  tha 50 states. At my tha Canta Placa Christopher Columbus aka Alta next to a miniature boat loaded with pralines Santa  Mark Kinkade staff writer hese Peake Bay crab Ravioli with Dill Mustard sauce and asparagus Subric May not be traditional fare at the local Chow Hall but it could be if Michael Schuller gets his Way. Schuller recently retired v corps sergeant major Tor food operations claims army cooking can go from Hall cuisine to haute cuisine easily. All it takes is an eager Cook. Quot ail the ingredients Are available Quot he said. Quot the Cooks have the skill and the army can get the food within budget. It s already in the Supply system. It just takes desire to do it  Schuller proved his Point when he served As an adviser to a team of army Cooks who faced teams from other nations armies in the internationale Koc Kunst Austel lung a the culinary olympics a military cooking team Competition last month in Frankfurt Germany. The military portion of the event was sponsored by the German army and offered As a separate Competition to the culinary olympics. Participating under the Banner of the United states army culinary arts team the army s Best Bakers basters and boilers came away with top honors in two categories a the military hot meals displayed cold and regional grand Buffet competitions a against teams from the United kingdom Germany Italy France and other countries. Quot it was the greatest thing to happen in military food service Quot Schuller said. Quot our goal was to win the Gold cup in military cooking and we did Quot the team of five military chefs who earned the Gold was drawn mostly from the food preparation instructor corps at fort Lee a. The Silver medal the highest award earned by a team in the grand Buffet was captured by five chefs from various units throughout the United states and Asia Schuller said. Quot these people Are typical Cooks in typical dining facilities Quot he said. Quot they just like what they do and it s their life s passion to serve Good  Competition focused on the ability to prepare food that is available to most dining facilities Schuller said. For example Competition rules allowed Only food currently in the military Supply system and two of the meals had to be prepared for 200 people roughly the size of a typical dining facility crowd. All the meals were prepared in military dining facilities. Army Cooks fed spectators from two menus each costing 4.50 Marks to prepare and sold to the spectators for 19.50 Marks. Each menu offered an appetizer main course Side dishes and dessert. The first menu consisting of Virginia Peanut soup baked scrod with Cream sauce Marquis potatoes Green Beans with Corn Salsa and key Lime mousse with Mango sauce was a crowd favorite. The second menu of Manhattan potato and Leek Cream soup grilled Chicken stuffed with herbal pesto Ratatouille with a Side dish of a meat and Cornmeal mixture called polenta Gateaux Spaghetti Squash with Black olives and Oregon Apple pie with Pecan Walnut Topping outsold entrees from Italy Germany great Britain and others Schuller said. The hot meals displayed cold portion of the event featured seven menu items that could also be made in a military dining facility he said. The chefs elected to drop traditional military standbys like chipped beef on Toast for upscale items like Lamb burgers. West coast shrimp with lentils and roast Cornish Hen from Washington. At the Center of the Success for the team was the grand Buffet. Schuller who was selected for the team because of his Talent in preparing buffets said the event involves preparing and displaying a Choice of dishes for judging usually representing some theme. The military teams theme for the Buffet was the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus s voyage to the new world. The Buffet was built around a Centrepiece cake representing the theme. Four cold desserts such As presidential Pear tarts and hawaiian cheesecake were displayed As was a dessert Platter of Coconut Laden marshmallows called Columbus Coconut Cove dessert. A seven course meal was displayed using California Ratatouille a Type of vegetable Ste Frisco consomm6, tuna cabernet and other dishes. A Platter for two of Baton Rouge Catfish and another of pork tenderloin were also shown. More food was represented in the Buffet including another seven course serving a four course meal a Buffet Platter hours d oeuvres and other dishes. Schuller said the Buffet was scored by meter Nacona judges Points were Given for consistency food Quality and display Schuller said. These Points were tabulated and applied to a scale for medal consideration. No team won the Gold medal but the army team racked up the highest Points to take the Silver medal. While winning the Competition was the prime motivation for the team Schutler said the team May get greater satisfaction if other military Cooks gain inspiration from the team s Success. Quot the Success of the team May indirectly Lead to better food and service at military dining facilities Quot he said. Quot if just one supervisor sees our Success and tries to emulate it tries to vary his Meny a bit and make a determined Effort to serve High Quality food it could Start a Chain  and maybe the people behind the serving lines will get a Little More respect he said Quot hopefully people will see that those folks Aren t just Short order Cooks Quot Schuller said. Quot maybe  see them As a ports in food preparation a As  if just one supervisor sees our Success and tries to emulate it tries to very Hie menu a bit end make a determined Effort to serve High Quality food it could Start a Chain reaction a Michael Schuller culinary team adviser Page 16 a the stars and stripes Friday november 13, 1992