BYU hosted an annual cook-off held by the American Culinary Federation for the first time in more than a decade. Talented chefs from the Midwest region competed against each other in a timed challenge from which the winner will be awarded a medal, trophy and the opportunity to compete at Nationals.
“You have a five-minute set-up; then you cook for an hour and plate for ten minutes,” said Chef Joe Castellano, who represented BYU at the prestigious event. “So really you have just over an hour to do the whole thing, and you make four plates all by yourself.”
Castellano, who has been cooking for about 30 years, said his passion for creating food came from his grandparents and his father. With dreams of becoming a chef, Castellano earned his culinary degree from UVU. Then he enrolled as a part-time student at BYU, where he currently attends and works as a chef at the Cannon Center.
To compete at the competition’s regional level, Castellano and his fellow competitors had to undergo a competitive application process.
“We receive many applications, and then we determine who will compete from those,” said BYU executive chef and competition chair John McDonald. “We like to think about who will represent the region the best.”
As for the food itself, the chefs were all challenged to create dishes incorporating lobster.
“The lobster theme comes from the region that is going to host the nationals,” McDonald said. “This year, the nationals will be in Baltimore, Md., and they chose lobster to be prepared by every region across the country since it kind of represents them as a state.”
The dishes created by the chefs at this year’s competition did not disappoint.
“The plates were beautiful,” said competition judge Peter Sproul, Utah’s first and only chef to become a certified ACF culinary judge. “They did a beautiful job. Very impressive; very organized.”
Sproul was one of three judges at the competition, all of whom are highly experienced and awarded chefs themselves. They judged the plates based on multiple criteria including taste, organization in kitchen, sanitation, cooking technique and presentation, according to Sproul.
First-time competitor Castellano said he practiced for the challenge about 10 times before the big day to prepare for any potential mishaps.
“It’s a lot of stress, but it’s fun,” Castellano said. “You don’t realize it until you’re in it, and then the time just goes so fast. I want to do it again though.”
