International competition to bring some of the country's best young chefs to Madison
Some of the best cooking in the world will be happening this weekend in Madison, as chefs and members of the world’s oldest international gastronomy society come to Madison College for the 2023 Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs Competition and National Culinary Weekend.
It will be the first visit to Wisconsin for the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs event, held June 1 to 3. Hosted by the college and chef/instructor John Johnson, the international wine and gastronomy event culminates with 10 young chefs from around the country competing for a spot at the international competition.
The weekend includes tours on Friday of Jones Dairy Farm and Hoard's Dairyman Farm Creamery in Fort Atkinson and Crave Brothers Cheese in Waterloo. Tickets for the full day of tours cost $100 and include transportation and lunch. Saturday features four food and wine seminars, including talks by George Crave of Crave Brothers Cheese, Liz Henry of J. Henry & Sons, lunch from Madison College, and the judges critique; tickets are $150. The weekend also includes a gala dinner Saturday at the at Blackhawk Country Club with executive chef Todd Weisenbeck. For a full schedule of weekend events and to order tickets, go to chaineus.org.
Chef Reimund Pitz, the American Academy of Chefs vice chairman for the American Culinary Federation, also serves as a board member and runs the young chef program for Chaine des Rotisseurs. Pitz helped bring this year’s competition to Madison. In anticipation of the weekend events, we talked with Pitz as he cleaned out his Orlando restaurant, Le Coq Au Vin, which closed in May after nearly 50 years.
Tell us about your background. What brought you to leading a culinary competition in Wisconsin?
I moved to Florida in 1976 and started at Disney (World) in 1978 ... My father was a world champion Greco wrestler. My stepfather was a military mess sergeant. When he retired, he retired in Colorado Springs. I went to work for Celebrity Sports Center, a 150 lane bowling alley owned by Disney at the time. I was offered a job at Disney World. I started as a culinary assistant and at age 23 or 24 became the youngest executive chef at Disney (in Florida)...
My goal is to pass on as much as I can to those who will take over someday ... (Chaine) was started in 1248, and the purpose was to raise credibility to the royal court. It came back in 1950 I believe, and it was slightly changed. It has two segments: professional, and non professional membership for people who love food and wine. It is not about the medals and trophies. You can't take that with you, but you can leave this life knowing you have aided the next generation.
How did Madison come to host this year's event?
As you know, you have a famous company there, Jones Dairy Farm. It wasn't even a state when that family got there. They produced all kinds of cheese, milk, vegetables, and now they do the sausage, the dry-aged bacon. It is a great company. When I was manager of the U.S. Culinary Olympic Team they became a sponsor. They went to Germany with us, and I became good friends with Philip Jones. They have been very supportive of Chaines. They are the only major sponsor we have for the young chefs program. He also gave a large sum of money to Madison College, where the kitchen has his name on it. I would love nothing more than to be able to have a young chefs competition in Madison to honor him and what the company has done for the culinary industry — not only Madison but the industry as a whole. They have everything in place they need to host an international competition where people come from all over the world to Madison.
Tell us about the competition. Who gets to compete and why does it matter?
Chaines in the U.S. is the largest chapter in the world as far as it is concerned internationally. The bigger you are, the more you have a seat at the table, so to speak. Chaines is divided into 10 areas in the United States. They each host a regional cook-off that will culminate in Madison.
Each representative, everything is paid for — their airfare, accommodations — and they each get a membership in the Chaines. They know what the kitchen (where they will compete) looks like, because they have a video sent. They go through the rules, everyone draws their starting time. There are no cellphones. Your toolbox is checked so there are no unapproved items. People always try to have recipes and things. We have a mystery basket. They have three minutes to write a three course menu, three hours to produce a three course, four portion menu, and 30 minutes to serve. That is graded and judged. The winner is announced.
The winner from last year will go to Istanbul this fall. It used to be the (U.S.) competition would be June and the international would be September. The other countries pick someone a year in advance and they have time to practice. So we did this to level the playing field. We haven't announced where next year's competition will be. I’m trying to convince Madison College to do it, because I think they can.
What do chefs get out of participating in competitions like these?
It is not always about the money — it is the prestige. The food is judged by professionals, judged on sanitation, nutrition, hygiene, proper balance on the plate, proper cooking methods, execution ... The ones that tend to fail, it is timing. It is a point for every minute that you are late. And if that happens you hang it up, because you will never make it to international. They get a five-year membership, they all get a knife set. The international winner gets a scholarship to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. There are really no losers, they are all winners. They won their region and the right to represent their region.
Is there anything else you want people to know about this competition?
The one thing that is disappointing is the chef competition has always been held behind closed doors. Nobody could witness our work. I said we'll open the doors to the members, the family, anyone who wants to come. That’s what we do now.
The international still does it behind closed doors. Why? Why not share their successes with the world? It is about letting people see what this industry has to offer. We've been able to do that by turning this into an entire weekend for the local community, the professionals, anyone who wants to come.
How do you describe your approach today versus when you began as a chef?
My approach has changed over the years, certainly. It is minimizing the use of manufactured products, bleached flours, processed salt. It is a more educational cooking process as opposed to in the past, so sea salt versus salt with iodine. I utilize a lot of fresh product. Even shrimp — if I can’t get it fresh I don’t use it, because if you buy it frozen it has iodine and preservatives. When you start getting into fabricated and manufactured stuff, forget about it, because of the additives in it. That part of my kitchen has changed for certain.
What is the most essential thing to teach chefs?
To provide a good meal, ultimately it is mastering the fundamentals of good cooking. ... You can buy the best thing in the world and if you don't know how to treat it, it is all over ... I don’t care what anybody tells you, the fundamentals will never change.
Your restaurant closed this month. What’s next for you?
As far as my restaurant is concerned, I sold it. I had a great run. I sold it, but I’m not retired. Chefs don't retire ... Now it is about the education of young chefs. I want to thank Jones Dairy and all the sponsors in Wisconsin who made this dream possible. I do hope people will come and take advantage of the competition and join the gala dinner. This is a great organization for professionals and non-professionals who love food and wine. I want to thank John Johnson and the entire team at Madison College for hosting us, because without them it is not possible. Let’s celebrate these young professionals. It is not about me, it is about them.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Madison to host world class young chefs at international competition
