Final practice - first notes: from the lead judge and a former contestant

Work and school schedules kept more than half of this year's C-CAP finalists from this weekend's final practice session at Arizona Culinary Institute with lead judge Chef Glenn Humphrey.

Chef Glenn gave a rapid-fire demo of the required entrée, chicken chasseur, and took time to review tourneed potatoes.

"Move the potato, not the knife," he says, "and make sure you get 'em about the same size so they cook evenly and quickly. And don't wear gloves - you're gonna cook these, you don't need to be gloved. Save the gloves for when you're working with food ready to serve."

And about those gloves…"Get some blue ones," says C-CAP graduate Justin Richardson. "If you use blue gloves, you'll know right away if you've nicked one enough to leave even a tiny piece in the food."

Chef Glenn ran through a step-by-step guide to preparing chicken chasseur (see below!) before finalists began formal practice.

As a graduate, Justin offered a few thoughts as he observed finalists at work, drawing from his own C-CAP finals as well as his work experience in the kitchens at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak.

"People need to be prepared to eat, breathe, sleep this competition for the next week, because it's the little things that trip you up and cost you points," he says.

"First, figure out your weakest point, and get busy on it. I can see hat everyone here is off to a good start, but there's a real need to buckle down and be serious. Focus on the work."

• Keep your sauce supple, not over-reduced. When you over-reduce, it gets gummy.
• Make sure your pastry cream is - well, creamy. You should not be able to taste that you used flour to thicken it!
• Keep your pastry cream creamy by placing a piece of plastic directly on top of the cream! Otherwise, it will develop a yucky-tasting 'skin,' which, by the way, Mr. Grausmann really dislikes.
• Keep your chocolate sauce away from the pilot light - you could inadvertently scorch it and - no matter what you do to recover - your final dish will retain a faint scorched sense.
• Remember: it is a chocolate sauce. If you use it primarily as garnish, at least put a few squiggles or dots directly on the crepes. (People like to taste chocolate!)
• Take along extra product, especially extra chocolate, stock, glace. Carry extra towels and gloves. (You might not need them - but what if you knock over the pot of stock?)
• Practice working in a tight (two feet by three feet or so) space - that's all the room you'll have during the finals.
• Keep moving your used equipment out of the way. By the time you're ready to plate, you should have a nearly empty work space to use.
• Use the photos on the C-CAP web site to come up with a plan for presentation. You don't need to be overly creative - make it appealing and neat and step away from the plate!

Justin has one final bit of advice: "You need to focus. It can be $80,000. Think how much winning this scholarship could change your life. I know it's possible," he says.

"It changed mine."

Meet your judges

C-CAP Arizona scholarship interviews include four professionals. Each has a different kind of view, and will look for different things in your responses.

“Group interviews are just as serious as one-to-one interviews are,” says HR expert and culinary pro Almira Wagley.

“Each interviewer is going to have a different perspective on each candidate. Candidates need to remember to give each person in the interview equal weight and importance in responding to questions.”

This is rough on candidates, but also helps insure that each student is seen more completely as judges discuss the interviews and applications.

Here are the judges who will conduct this year’s interviews:

Richard Grausman

Richard Grausman is the founder and president of C-CAP. A native of North Carolina, his first degree is in economics. He studied with James Beard before enrolling at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. He became the school’s first official ambassador.

He’s considered one of this country’s foremost culinary experts and educators, with a sterling national reputation. His greatest goal for C-CAP students is to have each succeed in school and in their culinary careers. (Learn more about Richard and his career at www.ccapinc.org/grausman-bio.php.)

Glenn Humphrey

Placement director of the Arizona Culinary Institute, Chef Glenn is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. A native of Connecticut, he’s also worked with the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, and was also food and beverage director for Marie Callender’s, among other professional culinary work.

He’s coached and judged culinary competitions across the country, and has been lead judge for C-CAP Arizona for more than a decade.

Sharon Levinson

Sharon Levinson is a professional non-profit organization manager and has worked with several groups and organizations. She’s been volunteering with C-CAP for more than 10 years, and is the person who helps keep everything running smoothly on the administrative and (actual) organization end.

Jill Smith

Jill is the C-CAP director for Arizona. Following a successful career in the high tech industry, she enrolled in culinary school and graduated from The Art Institute of Phoenix. Working with C-CAP allows her to take advantage of her skills in marketing and management, while capitalizing on her culinary understanding and expertise. She’s become tireless in her goals to help Arizona’s culinary educators provide an excellent foundation for their students’ success, and to help each C-CAP student reach both educational and professional success.

Use your head to prepare for C-CAP finals

During this past Saturday’s practice, C-CAP’s lead judge Chef Glen Humphrey, CEC, CCC, took a few minutes to talk about a few critical points for this year’s scholarship candidates.

In practicing for the culinary competition, Chef Glenn reminds students, “Timing is everything. You want to think about what you’re doing and how you’re dong it.”

He notes that knife skills are critical in improving prep time, as well as in the look of the finished dish.

A well-thought out plan for plate presentation is also critical. “You need a clear idea of what you want in your presentation,” he says. “It helps to have given it some careful thought – and to have practiced the idea.”

Moreover, “If you’ve practiced enough to feel confident about every step, it will show in your attitude as you cook. You need to be focused sufficiently to not be distracted by people and chatter around you.

“And we look for a confident – not arrogant – attitude.”

This week’s practice is almost here

Arizona Culinary Institute

10595 N. 114th Street, #401

Scottsdale, AZ 85259

(*NOTE* do not use Mapquest to find this address - it has incorrect directions, From Loop 101, go east on Shea Blvd to 116th Street, go south on 116th street and ACI's parking lot will be to your right)

March 12, 2011

10am - practice starts, please arrive by 9:45 to begin setting up.

Wear - Full kitchen uniform

Bring - All equipment necessary to complete all recipes

Bring - chicken stock and chicken glaze - all other food will be supplied by ACI

Be prepared to use this practice as a mock competition; we will be timing you as well as giving you a critique. You may use your recipes in this practice but remember, you may not use recipes during the actual competition.

What do C-CAP judges really want?

Culinary competitions all have rules and standards and expectations, but most competitors understand that success often rides on understanding just what the elusive ‘something’ is that judges want to see on a plate.

That’s true, too, for both the preliminary and final C-CAP competitions, which are made easier for judges by having published criteria for each level.

But – and this is a big, fat, hulking but: BUT every year brings some changes in the judging line up and expectations from judges.

Chef Glenn Humphrey, CEC, CCE, of the Arizona Culinary Institute, has been C-CAP Arizona’s lead judge for the annual competitions for more than a decade. He says, “The semi-finals are hard. In terms of the sheer number of competitors, it’s necessary for some of the judges to cover the kitchens and some the tastings.

“That’s when the written standards become important. It helps us make sure the judging is fair and even across the board. It’s a real balancing task.”

Chef Glen points out that, while the written objectives and standards haven’t changed greatly, “There’s a higher level of expectation, and the GPA’s are higher.

“We have kids with GPA’s of 4.0. The grade standards have been raised, and the levels at which the instructors are training have been raised, as well.”

He’s adamant that the key to success is practice and focus, for both instructors and students.

“Keep in mind that students who compete at the semi-finals need to execute at their absolute best to get to the finals. This means they need to understand exactly what needs to be done, how to do it – and they need to time everything.”

Instructors need to understand exactly what the students compete on, which is made clear, Chef Glenn notes, when both students and instructors attend the scheduled practice seminars.

“Those practices, though, should be time to practice with professional assessment from Jill and the other chefs who participate,” he adds. “Students who are clear about winning are also clear that they will need more practice.”

He has specific suggestions, too.

1) “Practice. Read the recipes to understand them. And practice will boost your confidence level.”

2) “Find a chef-mentor to help you, if it’s at all possible.” He urges students to...

3) ...“Take the initiative. You’ve got to be able to put yourself out there. If you do, I don’t think there’s a chef out there who wouldn’t agree to critique your work and help you improve.”

4) “Knife skills. Be comfortable with holding and using your knife. If you’re shaky, there are (extra) classes you can take.”

5) “Sanitation skills. It’s critical to know how to keep your work space sanitary.”

6) “Organize. Understand how to approach the dish.”

Coming next: This week’s practice – and tips from the rest of this year’s judges.