Ellsworth Airmen participate in cooking competition

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jarad A. Denton
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. (AFNS) --  Food service workers from the Bandit Inn dining facility here participated in the second annual "Ellsworth Iron Chef" competition March 17 here.

The competitors divided themselves into four teams and were tasked to create a multicourse meal with each dish featuring one of the two secret ingredients: milkfish and corned beef.

"We tried to incorporate ingredients with a St. Patrick's Day theme," said Staff Sgt. Jarret Espiritu, 28th Force Support Squadron Bandit Inn shift supervisor. "The competitors were judged on presentation, taste and originality."

Col. Steven Hiss, the 28th Bomb Wing vice commander, Julie Oberlander, a KEVN news anchor, and Josh Nguyen, a 95.1 KSKY radio broadcaster, judged the competition.

"It's always great to see Airmen come together in the spirit of friendly competition," Colonel Hiss said. "I really appreciate all the hard work the Airmen at the Bandit Inn did in creating these fantastic dishes."Once the judges sampled all the dishes they compiled their scores and announced the winning team.

"It was all very good," Mrs. Oberlander said. "Everyone had great dishes."

The team consisting of Airman Reese Audette and Airmen 1st Class Tiffany Lamb and Brent Smith, 28th FSS food service technicians, took home first place. They were each given knife sets by Colonel Hiss as winning prizes.