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It’s been an absolutely amazing, exhausting, enjoyable visit to Germany. The kind folks at the Quality Hotel in Gotha made us feel welcome and appreciated as we prepared for and participated in the 2008 International Culinary Olympics in Erfurt Germany. The hotel chef and the hotel staff were extremely generous and kind to us.

We are very pleased with the performance of the Midwest Culinary Olympic Team as we earned two bronze medals in this competition. Additionally, Rick Potter & Alan Neace coached the Guatemalan team in their first-ever International Culinary Olympic participation, and the team earned a silver medal. Congratulations to the Guatemalan team and to Chefs Potter and Neace!

After the competition in Erfurt was over and we packed our equipment for shipping back to the United States and cleaned our preparation room, we celebrated in the hotel’s lobby with the hotel staff and members of the other teams, including folks from the Swedish, Slovakian, and Canadian teams. We had a great evening and enjoyed the Olympic spirit of camaraderie and cooperation with the other teams. Hanging out in the lobby and conversing with the other teams will be remembered as a highlight of the trip.

The next morning on October 23 (mentioned because it was my birthday!) I drove the team from Gotha to Munich. We were tired when we arrived after the long van trip and checking into the hotel, but our energy was bolstered at the original Hofbrauhaus, where we enjoyed traditional German food and beverages. It was a really good evening, though it ended rather early.

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and stopped for a few photographs then went back to the shops near the Hofbrauhaus and shopped for various items and a few gifts to bring back to the States. There was a knife shop in the little row of shops, and a couple of us found nice cooking knives. Also, there was a terrific little gelato place, so Rick & I got gelatos. We couldn’t resist another visit to the Hofbrauhaus before leaving Munich.

After our lunch, we found our way back to the van and headed for Frankfurt where we will sleep in the airport hotel in order to be ready to catch our plane in the early afternoon. Brian and I got the van cleaned out and our final packing done.

Tomorrow, we get on the plane back to Cincinnati. It has been a wonderful, inspiring trip, but it will be nice to get home again.

There is still more to write, including an article that reveals our platters and plates from the competition. You can expect that – and more – in the very near future.

Congratulations to Chef Greg Skibinski who won a bronze medal in Category B competition at the International Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany today!

Greg’s plates looked amazing!

And, for the person who emailed Greg mentioning that he should smile more, here is a shot for you!:

Tonight at the hotel, we had an interesting dinner of pork, pineapple, peaches, and cheese on toast served with french fries. Afterward, we worked to get Chef Greg Skibinski’s Category B presentation done and ready to go. Chef Thomas, of the hotel’s restaurant, stopped by for a while to watch.Plating went very well, and Greg’s plates look outstanding. I was able to be a “fly on the wall” and watch and learn while Chef Skibinski, Chef Neace, and Chef Potter sliced, dipped, and plated the items. This is valuable experience and knowledge since participating in the International Culinary Olympics has ignited a spark in me – I want to compete now. I feel like I’ve got a head-start on my learning from watching these seasoned professionals go through the entire process.

Chef Stephane Thierry from the Radisson Hecla Oasis Resort in Manitoba Canada was our work-room-mate. He stopped by this evening and we had a great discussion, trading tips and techniques. Chef Stephane is a really nice, even-tempered individual and is extremely knowledgeable about the pastry kitchen. I hope we get to see him again in future competitions.

We have to pack the car at 4:30am to make the drive to Erfurt. It’s 2:42am now, and I am heading to bed for a couple-two-three hours of sleep since I have to drive. Most everything is done, and when I left them, the rest of the team was finishing putting aspic on Greg’s dishes. I feel like we’re ready for tomorrow, which will be another whirl-wind day – arrive at the convention center by 5:00am or so, set up Chef Skibinski’s plates, then leave to drive back to the hotel for a few hours shut-eye before Greg & I go back to the convention center to attend the awards ceremony and clean up. The rest of the team will stay in Gotha to begin organizing and packing our equipment to ship back to Cincinnati.

On a personal note, I have not been so tired and so exhilarated at once in a long, long time. I drag myself to bed for a few minutes (or hours) of sleep because my body simply cannot continue (I fell asleep at the hotel bar while waiting for beverages for the team!) and I lay in bed reviewing the events of the day and the to-do lists for the next time I get up. All the team members are feeling this way – Chef Rick Potter said, “even my toenails hurt”. Our spirit and enthusiasm remain high even though our energy is a bit subdued. I am pleased at how I’m holding up… My feet are killing me and my back hurts, but overall, I’m where I should be physically for the amount and type of work I’ve been doing.

Yesterday, we worked during the day and into the evening with Chef Greg Skibinski as he prepared his Category B entry. According to Chef Skibinski, we’re in really good shape with most of the preparation finished for his presentation, which gets judged on Wednesday.

Today, is the push for Chef Skibinski to finalize his presentation, get the items sliced and coated in aspic, and plated.

Around the hotel, teams from other countries have been competing. The sugar artist who shared our workspace – Stefan – was disappointed again after his mostly-finished sugar sculpture was damaged in transit from Canada. He worked valiantly and tirelessly to re-create his sugar sculpture here in Germany only to have his piece toppled at the convention by his tablemate who accidentally bumped their table. Stefan was amazingly relaxed about the experience – at least to us. The swiss military team took gold in their first event – congratulations! The South Korean team has been seemingly everywhere as they work to get their presentation finalized.

This morning, Brian and I will provide assistance anywhere it is necessary – finalizing printed menus, preparation work, errands, etc.

More updates to follow…

Chef Alan Neace, Sr. won a bronze medal in the International Culinary Olympics!

Congratulations, Chef Neace!

Chef Neace says, “Everything I’ve learned since I started competing in 1991 – and everything I’ve learned by competing in 2008 at the International Culinary Olympics – comes back to enrich the learning experience of the students of the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College”.

Here are a few photos of Chef Neace from the awards ceremony. Click any photo to view a larger size.

Good luck Chef Greg Skibinski, who competes on Wednesday!

Today, Brian and I set out to the convention center where the events of the International Culinary Olympics are being held, in Erfurt, which is about 30 minutes away from our preparation room in Gotha. Using the GPS (thank goodness for the GPS!), we were able to make the trip easily.

The convention center at Erfurt was packed – literally full to the brim – with culinary-related presentations, booths, chefs, and the foodie public. The International Culinary Olympics is the largest event of its kind in the world. Despite being weary, it was invigorating to be among so many food professionals! Seeing the work of other competitors was enlightening and awe-inspiring. I’ve added a bunch of photos of their work to the gallery (note: photos of our entries are not up yet, and captions for everything are coming soon) for your review.

We wandered, mouths agape at the spectacle, through three giant halls full of vendors verifying the location of our table and looking for a few elusive pieces to complete our presentation – a ladle & a couple specific cookie-cutters. We found the cutters we were missing and were able to negotiate with the vendor, who agreed to let us pay him the few Euros that we were short when we return tomorrow. Brian and I also took a few minutes to admire the work of the competitors who had presented their platters that day before jumping in the van and heading back to the preparation room.

When we got back to the hotel, it was time to get Chef Neace’s presentation together, so while Brian worked on menus and various display elements, I worked with the chefs in the kitchen while they sliced items, dipped them into aspic, and prepared the layout of the platters and plates. This process took several hours as each individual item that appears on the plate or platter is meticulously placed with tweezers.

We worked through the night and left the hotel around 5:00am to drive to Erfurt. I was very nervous driving because the meticulously-plated items were resting on the floor of the van, so it was imperative to drive very smoothly. Happily, we made it to the convention center without incident and got our materials set up with time to spare. Everyone was extremely relieved to have this, the first day of our competition, safely delivered to the convention center.

Then, it was all over except for the waiting. We drove back to Gotha for a few hours of sleep (it is disorienting to sleep from 8am until 2pm!). At 3:00pm, Alan and I drove back to Erfurt to attend the awards ceremony and tear down our presentation.