Northern cook off
SECDET return home from Op Catalyst

The winning 3CER team from left Pte David Pepper, Pte Steve Terry, Pte Belinda Sherwood, team captain Cpl Leigh Challis and team manager Sgt Paul Driehuis. Photo provided by WO1 Daryl Munroe

By Pte Shannon Joyce

DIXIES were bashed and catering standards smashed at the 3 Bde Catering Competition at Lavarack Barracks last month, when five-person squads went rissole-to-rissole for the Catering Culinary Competition Cup.

Vying for the winner’s trophy that would surely bring culinary fame, fortune and few days off the brigade mess-duty roster, unit cooking teams took on each other across three phases for the final cook-off.

Catering Technician WO1 Daryl Munroe, HQ 3 Bde, said the first three phases were a set menu, so all teams were on an equal footing, with the fourth phase finals set to a given a set dollar value.

“On the day they had to have five covers of hot food and dessert dishes presented for the judging by a certain time,” he said.

The judging was based on a number of criteria, including steward presentation, centrepieces, hot dishes, desserts, overall presentation and dress and bearing.

For the final, the teams presented their own themes. 3CER chose Asian, 1RAR cooked to an Advance Australian bush theme, and 3CSSB cooked Italian.

It was 3CER that looked inside themselves for the inspiration that drove them to first help mum in the kitchen, which led them to win the trophy, donated by the Australian Army Catering Corps Central Funds.

Pte Belinda Sherwood from 10FSB provided stewarding support to the winning team.