“We’ve spent so much time over the last year studying with my NCOs. All this hard work has finally paid off, so it’s really satisfying to get the win here.”
— Pfc. Joseph Qualantone
By Kelby Wingert
Sentinel Staff
FORT HOOD, Texas — Staff Sgt. Erline Julian and Pfc. Joseph Qualantone, both from 4th Infantry Division, won the tiles of III Corps NCO and Solider chefs of the year after a competition recently at the III Corps and Fort Hood Culinary Arts Center at Fort Hood, TX. (Photo by Kelby Wingert)
FORT HOOD, Texas — Fort Carson culinary specialists recently swept the III Corps Chef of the Year titles following a three-day competition testing their cooking and Soldier skills.
Staff Sgt. Erline Julian, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was named III Corps NCO Chef of the Year and Pfc. Joseph Qualantone, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div., took home the trophy for III Corps Soldier Chef of the Year.
The Oct. 23-25, 2018, competition started with a hot food challenge where each competitor was given a basket of mystery ingredients and the full use of the pantry and cooking facilities at the III Corps and Fort Hood Culinary Arts Center at Fort Hood, Texas, to produce two courses – a salad and an entrée.
The second day of the competition continued with an Army Physical Fitness Test and weapons qualification. The culinary specialists finished the third and final day with a formal board evaluation.
This was the first time competing in the III Corps Chef of the Year competition for both Fort Carson Soldiers, but they had plenty of time to prepare.
FORT HOOD, Texas — Staff Sgt. Erline Julian, a culinary specialist with 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, prepares her mystery basket ingredients during the hot food challenge of the III Corps Chef of the Year competition recently at the III Corps and Fort Hood Culinary Arts Center at Fort Hood, Texas. Julian was named the III Corps NCO Chef of the Year after the three-day competition. (Courtesy photo)
“We’ve been studying with our food service sergeant major for like a month and a half and he questioned us on every topic,” Julian said. “And then, we kind of went over cooking techniques because we didn’t get the time to do mystery baskets (beforehand), but I had some experience in it, going in there and doing research and watching TV shows.”
Qualantone was relieved about all the effort the “Ivy” Division chefs put into preparing for the competition.
“This feels amazing,” he said. “We’ve spent so much time over the last year studying with my NCOs. All this hard work has finally paid off, so it’s really satisfying to get the win here.”
Julian has had a lifelong passion for baking and cooking. She enlisted in the Army when she learned she could pursue her passions while in uniform.
“The love for it just kept going and getting bigger,” she said.
Qualantone, who has only been in the Army for a little over a year, followed a similar path.
“Culinary arts is something I’ve always been interested in,” he said. “I didn’t know if I wanted this to be the direction I took for the rest of my life, so I decided to join the Army in the culinary arts because I thought it was interesting. I really love what I do.”
As an NCO, Julian said she would share her experiences with her Soldiers at Fort Carson.
“I definitely want to take this experience back to my unit, back to my Soldiers, because I want them to come and try it and experience this for themselves,” she said. “Even if they don’t win, it’s not a loss because you learn something new and you’ve met people.”
FORT HOOD, Texas — Joseph Qualantone with 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, presents his appetizer and entree from the hot food challenge of the III Corps Chef of the Year competition recently at the III Corps and Fort Hood Culinary Arts Center at Fort Hood, Texas. Qualantone won the III Corps Soldier Chef of the Year award. (Courtesy photo)
Julian plans to improve her culinary skills in any way she can and to enter more cooking competitions.
As a junior enlisted Soldier, Qualantone encourages other young Army culinary specialists to compete for their division’s Chef of the Quarter title, or even the corps-level Chef of the Year competition.
“I say go for it,” he said. “You’re going to have such a great experience. Win or lose … the biggest part about it is you’re going to be learning something, you’re going to be preparing yourself to be a leader later in your Army career. This is just setting you up for success.”