This summer, the Commander Navy Installations Command (CNIC) Culinary Competition was held at Naval Station Great Lakes in Great Lakes, Illinois. The event is a culinary arts competition for shore-based Navy Galleys and is an American Culinary Federation (ACF) sanctioned event. This is the tenth year for the annual CNIC competition, the sixth year it was held at Naval Station Great Lakes and the second year the ACF has sanctioned the competition.
Our very own team of three Goodwill employees participated in the competition again this year. The Goodwill Great Lakes team is the only civilian team in the world, as other teams who participate are Enlisted Culinary Specialists. It is a unique opportunity for our Great Lakes staff to join other Navy cooks and chefs from around the world, with 12 teams consisting of 36 competitors from eight Navy Galley Ashore regions from as far as Japan and Guam.
While the event is a competition, it is also a chance to gain valuable training. “Classes and seminars are held during the first three days of the event, and it ends with the culinary competition, a final exam of sorts,” says Mike Artlip, Assistant Director - Executive Chef & Procurement. “During the training they refine their plan and recipes, receive valuable instruction in areas like plating and knife skills and then get a chance to show what they’ve learned at the competition,” says Artlip.
At the start of the competition, participants are given a market basket consisting of a mixture of ingredients that must appear in one of the two final dishes. This year’s market basket included whole chickens, whole fish, bacon, fingerling potatoes, asparagus, Granny Smith apples and Quinoa (grain). The participants also had access to a full library of spices and pantry of other ingredients to use in their final dishes.
We’re proud to share that our Goodwill team representing Naval Station Great Lakes took second place and consisted of Davonda Hicks, Rafahel Bailey and Brenda Atkins. They also received a Silver Medal from the American Culinary Federation. The delicious appetizer and entree created by the NSGL team were Quinoa Salad and Seared Chicken Breast.
“The CNIC Competition is a banner week for our staff at Naval Station Great Lakes,” says Kent Walters, Senior Vice President of Operations. “We are so proud to have once again hosted this year’s event, and are even more proud of our Great Lakes team,” says Walters.
Congratulations to our 2nd Place team, and to everyone at Goodwill Great Lakes for the fantastic job hosting this special event!
For more information on our operations at Naval Station Great Lakes, please contact Kent Walters, Senior Vice President of Operations, at (847) 473-7136 or kent.walters@goodwillsew.com.
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