Press Release

ACF Culinary Team USA 2004 at the IKA

Erfurt, Germany, October 17, 2004—Team members from Iceland shaved their heads before they arrived at the Messe in Erfurt as a show of group solidarity. The journalist the Icelanders brought with them, Jón Svavarsson, promised to do the same if the team wins a gold medal in any competition category. The Iceland team competed in cold food, and Svavarsson still has his hair.

Today marked the first day of the 21st International Culinary Exhibition (IKA), or “Culinary Olympics,” hosted by the Verband der Köche Deutschlands, or German Cooks Association. The U.S. teams—national, regional, youth, pastry and military—are joined in Erfurt by as many as 150 of their American compatriots, who cheered with vigor yesterday during the Parade of Nations, when U.S. chefs were announced among 38 teams from around the world, the farthest from Australia.

Approximately 1,100 chefs represent their respective homelands here via 32 national culinary teams, 16 national youth teams, 12 military culinary teams, nine pastry teams, eight community-feeding (large buffet) culinary teams, approximately 60 regional culinary teams and approximately 300 individual competitors. This year marks the largest participation of nations in the IKA since the very first competition in 1896. About 25,000 visitors are expected to converge on the Messe in Erfurt over the four days of competition.

The United States has a strong presence here, with nearly as many chefs as the Germany and Netherlands teams. But even smaller contingents such as Malta and Cyprus, which brought only their national teams, are part of a tradition that Ferdinand Metz, CMC, AAC, president of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS), said “will reignite and rekindle the spirit of competition” among cooks around the world.

As Edward G. Leonard, CMC, AAC, captain of the U.S. teams and president of ACF, said prior to the teams’ departure from the States: “Leaving our legacy in the history of ACF culinary teams awaits us. If we succeed in reaching our goal and achieve our objectives, the legacy of American cuisine is in our hands.”

Already, a Gold Medal
Four years ago at the 2000 IKA, the Swedish national team took first place overall, followed by the teams from Singapore, Norway, Canada and Switzerland, respectively. The United States placed sixth, and Germany, seventh.

In the 2000 youth competition, the German team took first place. The U.S.A. won the armed-forces division, and the top pastry team was Switzerland. Among regional teams, which compete in cold food only, the Stuttgart Union of Master Cooks won the IKA cup. And the title of European champions in the community-catering discipline went to the Swiss.

America’s participation in this year’s IKA got off to a roaring start thanks to the Fort Lee, Va.-based U.S. Army team, which was first among the five ACF U.S. teams to compete in cold food. The team won a gold medal for its cavalry-themed table that had as its centerpiece a three-tiered cake in rolled fondant crowned by a sugar stallion. Showpieces included cocoa paintings of famous U.S. generals in history, a salt-dough log cabin, a covered wagon in marzipan with goods and supplies in miniature, a marzipan horse saddle, pastillage medals affixed to a candy box, and a blown-sugar cavalry hat with playing cards and spurs. Indeed, at the first day’s awards ceremony, Mark Warren, CEC, the team’s captain, received a whopping 11 silver and four gold medals on behalf of team members for the U.S. Army’s showpiece and centerpiece work.

But the gold that counts the most is the one the U.S. Army team received for the cold table as a whole. One of its three-course entries started with creamy chicken-liver mousse, crisp polenta cake with poached apple and mushrooms in a madeira reduction, and sweet-and-sour currant sauce. The entrée was a boiled dinner of corned beef with a tomato/horseradish dumpling, root vegetables and a cabbage galette. Dessert was a chocolate/orange-cream gâteau slice with blood-orange and cumquat sauces, garnished with a chocolate decoration simulating wood grain.

The U.S. Army team will compete in hot food on Tuesday. Today, Great Britain’s military team competed against the military teams of Germany and Poland with two three-course menus, each serving 75 and costing less than €3 (equivalent to about $4) per person. To make the competition even more challenging, military teams are cooking in field kitchens outside the Messe, just as they would in real life.

Great Britain won a silver medal for its exhibition cooking, and manager Tony Corcoran couldn’t be more proud of his team that “took the best” cooks from the British navy, army and air force. “They all work together in perfect harmony,” he said, and it showed. Of the two British menus, one featured a first course of orange- and honey-glazed tenderloin of venison, sautéed spinach, seared pears, sweet potato served with cumquat chutney and a mustard dressing. The main course was a harvest of Scottish seafood garnished with savory pastry and accompanied by crushed new potatoes, baby leaks and baby corn. Dessert was white-chocolate/strawberry mousse, rhubarb sable and vanilla ice cream.

Final Course, First Day
Speaking of dessert, the United States also made a first showing at the launch of the IKA in the national pastry competition’s presentation division, in which it offered a chocolate showpiece, two gâteaux, a sugar showpiece, six unique plated desserts and a display of six pieces of eight different friandises including a showpiece. With the U.S. space program as a theme, the U.S. pastry team earned a silver medal—not a bad showing for a first-time involvement, according to pastry judge John Hui, CEPC. When the United States competes with practical work in the display kitchen on Tuesday, that could bring up the two-person team’s overall score, he said. Norway is a stiff contender for the top title in the pastry division, but there’s still a chance the United States could snag the win.

Hot Food Heats up
The United States’ national team competes in the most-prestigious competition division—exhibition cooking—on Wednesday, the last day of the IKA. Eight other national teams began their Olympiade journeys in the hot kitchen today. This reporter sampled the Scotland team’s three-course menu: terrine of smoked-Scottish salmon with a roasted sweet-corn salsa, accompanied by an oak-smoked salmon fillet served on fennel purée with vermouth sauce; followed by a main course of breast of Gressingham duckling with a duckling-leg “bon bon,” spiced chutney, savoy cabbage and a parsnip/potato mash; and finishing with a confection of coconut and chocolate with a tropical sauce, orange/yogurt ice cream and a golden pineapple tarte Tatin. Not surprisingly for this accomplished team, Scotland garnered a gold medal for its hot-food efforts.

Scoring for Sunday, Oct. 17
Following is how nations fared on the first day of the IKA, by medals won:

National Teams, Hot Kitchen
Cyprus, Bronze
Egypt, Bronze
Malaysia, Bronze
Romania, Bronze
Scotland, Gold
Slovakia, Bronze
South Africa, Silver
South Korea, Bronze

National Teams, Cold Display (categories A/B/C)
Czech Republic, Bronze/Bronze/Diploma
Iceland, Diploma/Silver/Silver
Japan, Silver/Silver/Diploma
Luxembourg, Diploma/Diploma/Diploma
Malta, Bronze/Diploma/Silver
Russia, Diploma/Diploma/Diploma
Singapore, Gold/Bronze/Gold
Switzerland, Silver/Gold/Gold

Youth Teams, Hot Kitchen*
Denmark, Diploma/Silver
Russia, Bronze/Diploma
Scotland, Silver/Silver
Switzerland, Gold/Gold
* The second medal is for skills evaluation, which follows the hot-food competition.

Youth Teams, Cold Display
Czech Republic, Silver
Great Britain, Silver
Portugal, Silver
Wales, Gold

National Pastry Teams, Practical
Mexico, Diploma
Norway, Gold

National Pastry Teams, Display
Australia, Bronze
USA, Silver

Military Teams, Hot Kitchen
Germany B, Gold
Great Britain, Silver
Poland, Bronze

Military Teams, Cold Display
Netherlands, Silver
United States, Gold

TOMORROW: Updates on the U.S. national and youth teams’ cold-display tables, plus, why the French are noticeably absent from the IKA.

For more information, visit www.culinary-olympics.com.

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Contact: Lisa Alessandro, APR
(904) 824-4468, ext. 103
lalessandro@acfchefs.net