To people outside of the culinary industry competitive cooking is what 's seen on the Food
Network. Shows like Chopped and Hell 's Kitchen are more theatrical. Competitive cooking shows
on TV have lots of drama; not to say the chefs on the show aren 't real and they aren 't competing, but
competitive cooking is not about entertaining an audience. Cooking competitions are an intense
experience and chefs don 't compete for the drama, they compete for a very specific reason.
I am no stranger to competitive cooking. I was very fortunate to be able to participate in the
SkillsUsa cooking competition at a high school level. I had taken my schools culinary arts program and
had a passion for cooking that I wanted to take further. I …show more content…
In cold food the food isn 't eaten. Flavor doesn 't matter in cold food it is all about appearance and
technique.
I had the opportunity before this class to help with an actual cold food competition. It is one
thing to see it, but being able to actually do it was an amazing learning experience. When doing a cold
food competition, the food is cooked then glazed. Cold food is all about timing. The food has to look
fresh before it is glazed, and I learned how hard this actually was to do.
One of my components for my dish was browned, large dice, sweet potatoes. I spent a decent
amount of time making sure they were perfect. I turned them in the oven to make them brown evenly
and watched them very carefully. They looked great, but could I use them? No. They cooked too long
to store overnight and got really mushy. I had the time to make a different vegetable, so it ended up
being fine. If this was an actually competition, this setback would cost you.
For an actual cold food competition you have to work backwards from your deadline. This
means that glazing is done last. There is no time to cook during glazing and you wont have time to
make a new component if it one is …show more content…
I also had to do SK-1 runs in
Competitive Cooking. Even though I have done an SK-1 competition before, a lot can still be learned
from doing SK-1 runs. SK-1 competitions require your protein to be a chicken. There are many ways
to cook a chicken, besides the usual pan sear, sauce, and veg. Chicken can be poached, fried, baked,
and braised.
How the chicken is cooked is very important, but properly utilizing the chicken is even more
important. For example you can stuff the chicken breast with forcemeat made from the thighs, or you
can saute the breast and serve it with a side of braised leg meat. This is part of the reason why the one
hour you have to cook for an SK-1 competition is so intense. A simple dish that shows only few
techniques will not impress. SK runs challenge your creativity and ability to make foods cohesive.
Cooking chicken may seem simple, when it in fact can be quite difficult.
I have cooked so much chicken in Competitive Cooking that I believe I have run out of ideas
for it. Of course when you have unlimited ingredient possibilities, there is more you can do with the
chicken. The chicken is the star of this dish; however, your starch and vegetable is just as
Network. Shows like Chopped and Hell 's Kitchen are more theatrical. Competitive cooking shows
on TV have lots of drama; not to say the chefs on the show aren 't real and they aren 't competing, but
competitive cooking is not about entertaining an audience. Cooking competitions are an intense
experience and chefs don 't compete for the drama, they compete for a very specific reason.
I am no stranger to competitive cooking. I was very fortunate to be able to participate in the
SkillsUsa cooking competition at a high school level. I had taken my schools culinary arts program and
had a passion for cooking that I wanted to take further. I …show more content…
In cold food the food isn 't eaten. Flavor doesn 't matter in cold food it is all about appearance and
technique.
I had the opportunity before this class to help with an actual cold food competition. It is one
thing to see it, but being able to actually do it was an amazing learning experience. When doing a cold
food competition, the food is cooked then glazed. Cold food is all about timing. The food has to look
fresh before it is glazed, and I learned how hard this actually was to do.
One of my components for my dish was browned, large dice, sweet potatoes. I spent a decent
amount of time making sure they were perfect. I turned them in the oven to make them brown evenly
and watched them very carefully. They looked great, but could I use them? No. They cooked too long
to store overnight and got really mushy. I had the time to make a different vegetable, so it ended up
being fine. If this was an actually competition, this setback would cost you.
For an actual cold food competition you have to work backwards from your deadline. This
means that glazing is done last. There is no time to cook during glazing and you wont have time to
make a new component if it one is …show more content…
I also had to do SK-1 runs in
Competitive Cooking. Even though I have done an SK-1 competition before, a lot can still be learned
from doing SK-1 runs. SK-1 competitions require your protein to be a chicken. There are many ways
to cook a chicken, besides the usual pan sear, sauce, and veg. Chicken can be poached, fried, baked,
and braised.
How the chicken is cooked is very important, but properly utilizing the chicken is even more
important. For example you can stuff the chicken breast with forcemeat made from the thighs, or you
can saute the breast and serve it with a side of braised leg meat. This is part of the reason why the one
hour you have to cook for an SK-1 competition is so intense. A simple dish that shows only few
techniques will not impress. SK runs challenge your creativity and ability to make foods cohesive.
Cooking chicken may seem simple, when it in fact can be quite difficult.
I have cooked so much chicken in Competitive Cooking that I believe I have run out of ideas
for it. Of course when you have unlimited ingredient possibilities, there is more you can do with the
chicken. The chicken is the star of this dish; however, your starch and vegetable is just as