Young chefs prepare for cook-off in China
Grads to set off next month on Asian foodie adventure
With a stove behind him filled with gurgling pots of bubbling sauces and perfectly diced vegetables boiling until tender, Thomas Traupman slid his knife across the thick fat of the duck breast.
But getting the duck crispy wasn’t what was stressing the Hellertown resident.
“I’m worrying about this gastrique,” said Traupman, as he gently stirred his delicately balanced sauce.
He and another Lehigh Valley chef, Matthew Kirby, were practicing dishes they will present when they head to China next month as the only U.S. participants at a prestigious international young chefs’ competition.
Both recently graduated from culinary school — not from the renowned Culinary Institute of America in New York City, but from Northampton Community College.
“We already have a great program,” said Francine Marz, NCC’s culinary director. “This just solidifies that. You don’t have to pay for a huge tuition to get a great education.”
Traupman, 19, and Kirby, 20, will leave Oct. 20 to take part in the three-day International Young Chefs Association Challenge in Ningbo, China. The
competition is for chefs 25 or younger, and it includes culinary competitors and teams from Australia, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and China.
The pair will compete as a team and individually, with the opportunity to bring home a gold medal. For the team competition, they will be creating two dishes (one seafood and one chicken, pork, beef, lamb or duck entree), three plates each — in one hour. Then the two will individually face off against other chefs, producing one dish, two plates, again with one hour to prepare.
Marz has been to China a few times and knows a Chinese master chef who reached out to her in February about the competition. She recognized a tremendous opportunity for her students.
At the time, she was reviewing student essays for the school’s annual Emeril Lagasse competition. Each year, students who submit winning essays are chosen to compete in a culinary contest at NCC that’s modeled after Food Network’s popular show “Chopped.” The winners of that contest get an all-expenses paid trip to New Orleans — over winter break — to work in the four NOLA restaurants owned by Lagasse, a renowned pioneer celebrity chef, author and TV personality.
Looking over the essays, Marz chose Traupman’s and Kirby’s essays as the top two. Instead of the Emeril contest, she told them about the opportunity to travel and compete in China.
She knew they were the right students for the contest. Both are quiet, respectful, polite and not afraid to hustle, Marz said.
“What I looked for was two people who could work well together. You have to work together as a team, and I looked at these two and I said this would be a good pair,” Marz said.
So in the spring, Marz and the two chefs began to think about how they would approach this competition. They are many added challenges to competing in China.
For one thing, neither has been out of the country before. And for another, they will have to buy everything in China that they need to make their dishes — including fresh ingredients and special equipment. They had to study what ingredients and foods would be available overseas to be able to practice at NCC.
Traupman and Kirby began practicing different dishes in late spring, coming in twice a week for several hours to recipe test and experiment with flavors. Even after they finished school — Traupman graduated in August and Kirby in May — they have continued to come to the kitchen at NCC’s Hampton Winds restaurant to work on their recipes as they worked full-time.
Traupman is now a line cook at Kome in Upper Saucon Township and Kirby is a line cook at Melt, also in Upper Saucon.
With just under a month to go, both have kicked it into high gear. They were practicing last week with a duck dish and experimenting with some beautiful sea bass.
“How ‘bout some fresh ginger?” Marz asked Kirby, as he chopped a McIntosh apple into delicate, uniform matchsticks.
This is not an ordinary culinary contest. The dishes have to be executed to perfection, with each ingredient serving a specific purpose on the plate.
“You are being judged by what’s on the plate,” Marz said. “Everything about you is on that plate.”
The judges are the highest caliber experts, expecting culinary technique, presentation and flavor perfection. The dishes need to be classic but interesting, with a bit of a modern twist — and not too American.
“They have to suit a European palate, ” Marz said.
Once the chefs land, they will have minimal time to rest before they have to head out to the Chinese markets to find what they need. They also need a private driver to transport them in China, as their chefs’ knives are not permitted on public transportation.
The challenge is part of the fun, though.
“I’m always cooking for someone else,” Kirby said. “This will give me a chance to cook for myself. I’m nothing but grateful.”
To travel across the globe in a test of what they’ve learned at NCC is an experience of a lifetime.
“That’s what college is all about,” Marz said. “To see the world.”