Competition Of The Masters Of Flavours

The hors d’oeuvres were salmon with spinach, or coloured catfish braised in wine with mignon cocktail shrimps; the main dishes were chicken drumsticks in mustard sauce seasoned with tarragon, and Hungarian-style tenderloin stripes served in oven-baked potatoes with fried mixed vegetables sprinkled with pine nuts – this menu is not a tip for an Easter lunch but was spotted by honvedelem.hu on the menu card of HDF’s cooking competition hosted by Krúdy Gyula Vocational School of Siófok.

The corps entered 26 contestants from 13 organizations from all over the country for the competition. The contestants started to prepare their dishes in 10 minute delays. Each contestant had 100 minutes to prepare two helpings of starters and two helpings of main dishes and present them on the table of the jury, relying on the specified list of ingredients. The contestants had been given the list of ingredients in advance and on the basis of that, they could plan what to prepare for starters and main dishes. Running out of 100 minutes resulted in a penalty and losing scores.

Honvedelem.hu asked the chairman of the jury, Colonel Tibor Horváth about the competition. "When judging the dishes, we focus on four main aspects and a maximum of 20 points can be given for each. In the first stage we score the presentation of the dish, which means that the jury evaluates how appetizing, tasteful, and elegant it is. In the next stage we analyze the components of the dish, if there is a harmony between the colours, flavours, and portions of the ingredients. In this case, we even take a look at the inside of the meal to see the composition of the filling and how it is placed within the meat. The third aspect of evaulation is the examination of the professional preparation of the dish, whether the used method meets the requirements of today’s modern culinary art. Last but not least, we score how clean and precise the serving of the meal is. The guidelines we are focusing on here are the following: the contestants should not use artificial decorations, the preparation of decorations should not take too much time, and we also examine how aesthetically the respective decorative elements are presented. These aspects make it possible for us to assess how much the contestants tried to use modern serving options and how practical they have been. The fact that the contestants start to prepare their dishes in 10 minute delays is significant at this point, since this allows continuous assessment and it cannot happen that the meal prepared by the contestant with the highest serial number loses its quality due to waiting and keeping it warm for a long time" – said Tibor Horváth.

There were several restrictions in the call for the contest: the most important one was that no ingredients other than the available raw materials could be used. The participants could use the basic equipments and tools provided on the spot, but they were not allowed to bring their own regular or special equipments or tools, nevertheless, the organizers provided them with a uniform crockery for serving and presenting the meals. In these competitions young talents are also selected for the Hungarian military chefs’ team. This selected team assembles once or twice a year to work and prepare together. Within the team, everyone has a clear role, usually in their field of expertise. Those who prove their skills in the team can take it for granted that they will travel with the team for the next international competition. Last year for instance there was a World Culinary Olympics for military chefs. In the hot food category, our team won the silver medal, and in the cold food category they were awarded the bronze medal. The next world championship will be in 2010, and we have already started to prepare for it this year" – told us Colonel Horváth.

The guests who were invited to the competition were given a presentation about the competition, the experiences of last year’s competitions and, of course, the results of the military chefs’ Olympics and the preparations that had preceded it. While the jury decided on the places, the guests were entertained by the stylish performance of the orchestra of the 43rd Command Support Regiment of the Hungarian Defence Forces and the special team of HDF 32nd Support Brigade.

Before the distribution of the prizes, Mr István Petõ, the chairman of the Hungarian National Culinary Association evaluated the competition. He emphasized that compared to the previous year, the standard of this contest was much higher because here the flavours were put into the limelight. “We have come across a great number of good flavours, there were only two or three dishes which did not meet the expected standards. There has been a significant advancement in both the flavours and the serving of the dishes" – summarized the chairman, who also thanked the contestants for their quality job.

The results:

Special award for the most delicious dish:

Zsuzsanna Mocsáriné Juhász, civil servant, HDF 5th ’István Bocskai’ Infantry Brigade

1st prize: György Bojtos, MoD Military Cultural Services Non-profit Company

2nd prize: Sándor Bratkovics, HDF Support Brigade

3rd prize: Tibor Horváth, HDF Support Brigade

In case there is someone who would like to win a cooking contest, honvedelem.hu now discloses the name of the winning dish – the only thing left is to prepare it: for starter, poached catfish in a carrot and leek embrace, fish with velouté sauce and grilled celery, catfish cracklings with red onion chutney and pepper concassé. Tenderloin rolls with spinach and rusty onion and parsley sauce, grilled peppers, potato noodles, and tomato bonbons filled with mushroom could do as the main dish.

In 2009, the team of MoD Military Cultural Services Non-profit Company won the challenge cup.