McChord hosts Northwest Military Clam Chowder Cook-off

  • Published
  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • Staff writer
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  McChord's Olympic Dining Facility was transformed March 28 from its ordinary and utilitarian setting to something that looked like it came from a set of a major cable network cooking show.

It was all part of the 3rd annual Northwest Military Clam Chowder Cook-off, which McChord hosted for the first time.

Ten military teams representing the different services from all over the Northwest showcased their best clam chowder recipes in an effort to wow the judges and represent their branch of the military.

"Soup is very underrated and often overlooked (in cooking)," said Airman 1st Class David Arceo, 62nd Services Squadron, who along with teammate Airman 1st Class James Parker, 62nd SVS, competed as one of McChord's two teams in the competition. "If you can make a good soup, you can make a good sauce."

Airman Arceo and Airman Parker decided to spice up the ordinary chowder recipe by adding some spices and fresh clams to the recipe.

"Our goal was to make it light but creamy," he said. "I didn't want to go too far from the traditional, but I wanted to bring out the natural flavor of the clams instead of the canned taste."

But the high sodium content of the fresh clams ended up spoiling the broth and making the soup too salty, Airman Arceo said.

"It killed the taste," he said with a laugh. "The contest was fun and I enjoyed it. I can't wait to come back next year."

The other McChord team of Staff Sgt. Jocelyn Ferber and Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Juan ventured off the traditional chowder path, opting to make an island-style chowder with green, red and yellow bell peppers added to the broth and served in a hollowed out pepper.

The team even added some cream cheese and half-and-half to the broth -- a sampling of a couple different recipes -- and garnished it with sautéed bacon bits on top and a side of potato chips with melted cheese on top.

"It was pretty original and it had a lot of color," Sergeant Ferber said.

Unfortunately, the judges were looking for more traditional chowder recipes, she said.

"The flavor was good ... it was disappointing," Sergeant Ferber said.

But the team took great solace in the fact that while the soup may not have been a hit with the judges, audience members who came for the free lunch after sure took a liking to it.

"Our pot was gone before anyone else's," she said.

An Army Special Forces team took first place in the contest, while a Coast Guard team took second and a team from the Navy was third.

But that likely won't be the last time McChord teams get a chance to compete on their home turf, as contest organizers liked the venue so much the contest will likely return to McChord next year, said food service section chief Master Sgt. Ramon Erpelo, 62nd SVS.

"Everything went great and the participants loved the venue," Sergeant Erpelo said.

He also expects a better showing from the McChord teams next year.

"It's a learning process for us," he said.