On the opening night of the 2022 Chef to Chef Conference in Nashville, Michael Matarazzo, Executive Chef of Farmington Country Club, drew eight names to form teams of club chefs that would compete in a mystery basket-style culinary competition hosted on the final day of the conference.
Up to that point, Anthony Capua, Executive Chef of Sycamore Hills Golf Club (Fort Wayne, Ind.), and Wesley Tyler, CEC, CCA, WCMC, Executive Chef of The Club at Carlton Woods (The Woodlands, Texas) had never met. But with successful culinary backgrounds and similar styles, they were eager to compete together.
Chef to Chef (C2C): What inspired you to compete in the Chef of the Year Competition?
Anthony Capua (AC): Since I started at Sycamore Hills two years ago in an executive chef role, we have had many goals, but since the start, we’ve tried to take our small market-based club and compete with clubs in larger markets. We have done that in a number of ways including adopting a scratch philosophy, enhancing our operations with equipment and plates, incorporating more modern techniques, improved front and back of house training and competing anytime we can on bigger stages. We love to put our work out into the industry any chance we get, so when this competition opportunity was presented, I was excited to enter.
Wesley Tyler (WC): As we continue to grow our culinary operation here at The Club at Carlton Woods, I try to push my team to be the best that they can be every day. Personally, this was an opportunity for me to exemplify my leadership practices and show my team that no matter the outcome, it’s important to push yourself on a daily basis and throughout the course of your career. I have to continue to challenge myself in order to grow so. The opportunity to compete in the Chef of the Year competition was an excellent arena for me to be able to showcase my abilities and pressure myself to be the best that I can be while competing at the highest level with some very talented club chefs.
C2C: What was your first thought when you discovered your teammate selection?
AC: It felt great! I started following Chef Tyler a few months before the conference on LinkedIn as he posts recipes and blogs often. He is a very talented chef from a great operation. He takes a modern approach and I think we have similar styles. Although we came up short, I couldn’t have been paired with a better partner for the competition.
WT: I was excited. I researched all of the chefs leading up to the competition and felt Chef Capua was probably the most ideal partner for me. Everything from our styles and practices to our plating techniques and flavor profiles seems to really be on the same page. After speaking with him following the selection process, it reassured me that we were really aligned on our plans and on the same page going into the competition.
C2C: Were you nervous?
AC: I definitely had some butterflies before game day, but in the end, once we got on stage, we did what chefs love to do: We cooked great food. Once we started to cook, I was zoned in on the task at hand and communicating with Chef Tyler about our dish.
WT: I was nervous, but I think it was mostly a good nervous. Since I haven’t done much competition cooking, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but Joanna DeChellis, Editor of Club + Resort Chef, and the Club + Resort Chef team did a fantastic job setting us up for success and streamlining the whole process.
C2C: Have you ever competed before?
AC: Although I’ve done multiple other competitions in my life nonfood related, this was the first-ever mystery basket competition for me.
WT: Not really, at not least on a big stage like this. I have done some smaller competitions, but this was bigger than anything I’ve ever done.
C2C: What was your favorite part about the competition?
AC: My favorite part was the camaraderie of all the chef competitors and going out there and having fun cooking.
WT: Having the level playing field with the mystery basket was great. It gave all the Chefs an equal playing field to start and allowed us to really get creative. Working with Chef Capua was a great experience as well. Planning and composing our dish was seamless and enjoyable. He is a great chef and it helps that we have similar styles in the kitchen.
C2C: What was the hardest or most challenging part of the competition?
AC: Having never seen the competition firsthand, I wasn’t sure what to expect as it pertains to the layout and flow.
WT: The hardest part was the starch selection for the dish. We had relatively limited options that would be in line with our direction and discussed that the most as we entered into the competition. The timing was also a challenge. Twenty-five minutes doesn’t leave much time for any extensive cooking without compromising quality.
C2C: Would you make any changes to your dish in retrospect?
AC: If I could change one thing, it would have been to get my duck on sooner to render the fat a little more for a crispier skin.
WT: After the competition, Chef Capua and I spoke extensively about our dish and both agreed we wouldn’t change anything about it given the ingredients we had available though we were disappointed it didn’t go our way. I am proud of our dish— a Chinese Five-Spice Maple Leaf Duck Magret with Gigante Bean and Guanciale Cassoulet and a Pickled Radish Orange Micro-Salad—and the flavors we put out. The presentation was good and the execution was all in line with our plan. We could always refine small points or techniques, but I am satisfied with our dish and performance.
C2C: What could CRC do to improve the competition in the coming years?
AC: A full video of the competition would have given me more of an idea of what to expect, but the staff and chefs that put it together couldn’t have been more helpful with anything we needed before and during the competition.
WT: Increasing the time for each round might be beneficial. Given more time, I think you would see more elevated dishes and offer the opportunity to incorporate some more advanced cooking techniques. Including some more kitchen staples would help as well. There were only red onions, which makes it challenging, but that’s part of the competition.
C2C: What makes this competition so unique?
AC: It was so much fun to showcase our clubs and watch and learn different skill sets from other chefs in the industry. Also, the number of chefs that came up to us after the competition and showed us some love for having competed gave us a true sense of camaraderie. I think that’s what makes this competition so unique. It goes well beyond the wins and losses.
WT: Competing on a platform in front of all of your peers is a really special opportunity. Having the possibility of winning Chef of the Year is a great accomplishment. The camaraderie this competition brings is invaluable, and I look forward to competing again in the coming years.
C2C: What knives/tools/utensils/equipment did you bring?
AC: I brought a chef coat, pants, nonslip shoes, side towels, knives, and plate wipes.
WT: I brought my knife kit, however, I only ended up using my chef knife and utility knife. In addition to knives, I brought plating spoons and equipment, an apron, plate wipes, and towels.
C2C: Did you do anything specific to prepare for the competition?
AC: I watched some old reruns of Chopped.
WT: Leading up to the competition, I researched all of the other competitors to see what their styles and profiles were. I mentally went through the process and wrote out potential dishes that would be easily modified based on the ingredients available.
C2C: What were the most practical and impractical ingredients in the mystery basket selection?
AC: The most practical ingredients were the essential vegetables—celery, carrot, onion, etc. The most impractical would have been some stone-ground grits. I like to think of myself as the out-of-the-box thinker, but 25 minutes for stone-ground grits would require some serious magic.
WT: The most practical were the kitchen staples and quick cook proteins—duck, chicken, fish, beef tenderloin, etc. The most impractical were some of the longer cook proteins or starches that would be extremely difficult to execute in 25 minutes like short ribs or risotto.
C2C: What advice would you give future competitors?
AC: Move with purpose. Twenty-five minutes moves fast.
WT: Research all of your competitors as much as possible. Practice with mystery ingredients in your kitchen before competing. Stay calm and let your skills and knowledge do the work.