Overland Expo East 2017 - Overland Chef Competition!

helocat

New member
For Overland Expo East 2017, Metal-tech 4x4 is hosting the first Overland Expo East Chef competition. The competition is for anyone who loves Overland Cooking and having fun. Up to 7 teams of 1 to 3 teammates will be challenged to make one sweet and one savory dish using a "secret" ingredient in both dishes. A panel of Overland Celebrity Judges will the taste and vote what team is the first ever Overland Expo East Chef winner for 2017! The winning team besides bragging rights and fame will win championship Chefs aprons with "Overland Expo Chef 2017" embroidered on them.

The first 7 teams to sign up will be accepted. To sign up send an email to: expochef@metaltech4x4.com

This thread will list the teams that have been accepted and open to any discussions / questions about the competition. This is open to anyone that will be at Expo East, until the 7 team spots are gone.

DATE and TIME:

Friday September 29th
2:00 PM set up
2:30 Cooking Starts!
4:00 Knives/spatulas down! Turn in of dishes.
4:00 to 4:40 Judges tasting
4:40 to 5:00 Clean up

Winners will be announced at the happy hour following the competition.



The fine details: OXE Chef 2017

Participants have 90 minutes total to come up with one savory dish and one sweat each with the a secret ingredient. At the 60 minute mark the team's stop all cooking on their savory dish and will turn in them in, in order of registration. (Team 1, 2, etc.) Cooking can continue at their stations for their sweet by their teammates. At the 90 min mark all cooking ends and teams will turn in their sweet in the order of registration.

The secret ingredient will be revealed the morning of the competition at 9AM at the Metal-tech 4x4 booth. This will give teams enough time for to get their ingredients and recipes ready for the late afternoon competition.

There will be a panel of 5 judges. Each entry will be judged in 3 categories. The categories are: Taste, Presentation, & Originality. Taste will have a scale of 1 to 5 points. While presentation and originality will max out at 3 points. The winning team will be the one who is able to score the greater amount of points. In the case of a tie - a 4th category will be considered with a max of 3 points for how the secret ingredient was used.

Each team will have its own (unique) name and maximum of 3 members. There will be a maximum of 7 teams and a minimum of 3 teams. Each team must provide all their ingredients, plus all their cooking equipment. The secret ingredient and serving plates (small desert size plates) will be provided by Metal-tech 4x4 at the start of the competition time. Each team will bring their own setup (Cooking table, stove, grill, cookware, alcohol ETC). All preparation is one side by side in a designated area, so your cooking equipment needs to be be mobile and open for all the see. No trailers or vehicles in the competition area.

This inaugural OXE Chef Competition sign up is free per team. The winning team gets is awarded the title of OXE Chef 2017 and get customized Metal-tech 4x4 Aprons with that title embroidered onto them, but most importantly bragging rights of being the OXE Chef 2017! Every participant regardless of winning will also receive a limited edition Metal-tech 4x4 Overland Chef patch avalible only to Overland Chef competitors.

This is all for fun so enjoy yourselves. Does not hurt to have a team signature cocktail to butter up the judges....

- Update: It is OK to start your cooking equipment in advance. For example maybe you love cooking on a portable wood fired stove. Its fine to have the fire going in advance before the comp starts.



 
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helocat

New member
Teams that are officaly registered:

1. Team MSO - Origins unknown
2. Old Dominion Outdoors - Virginia, USA
3. East Tennessee Overland Soggy Bottom Boys - Tennessee, USA
4. Bus bound butchers - The road is home
5. Travel Junkies - MD/NJ, USA
6.
7.

Alt Team:
 
Last edited:

helocat

New member
Some questions that have come in. I am posting these from an Email so everyone can see the answers:

Q. How many should we plan to cook for? Just one dish?

A: There are 5 judges. However the servings only need to be a portion, not a full serving per judge. We are supplying the serving plates and they are small 7" round "dessert" plates. Everyone has to use the "offical" plates provided as they keep consistency and honestly on the judges table, they only have so much room!

Q.So we need to plan on making one entree and one dessert?

A: Yes. Both the savory and the sweet need to use the secret ingredient as well.

Q. We provide everything we need to complete the entree and dessert?

A: Almost everything. Metal-tech 4x4 will be providing the "secret ingredient" 5 min before the start of the cooking. All other ingredients are the team's responsibility.

Q.We supply the cooking surface/fuel/etc?

A: Yes. Each team has approximately a 10'x10' area to set up their "kitchen". The area is open so everyone can watch you work your magic. (Sorry no trailers or trucks) Teams must be prepared with their own tables, cooking equipment, ice chest, fuel etc. We will have a full 30 min before the start of the competition for teams to set up and get ready.
 

helocat

New member
Q: How much time do we get to cook each item?


The food turn in to the judges is split into two time frames. First for the savory is 60 minutes and the sweet is 30 min:

Participants have 90 minutes total to come up with one savory dish and one sweat each with the a secret ingredient. At the 60 minute mark the teams stop all cooking on their savory dish and will turn in them in, in order of registration. (Team 1, 2, etc.) Cooking can continue at their stations for their sweet by their teammates. At the 90 min mark all cooking ends and teams will turn in their sweet in the order of registration.


The reason for this is two fold. #1 with 7 teams each turning in their food one at a time, it takes time. If each team took 5 min to distribute and share both their savory and sweet, the last team is almost a full 30 min after the end of the cooking for that round. This can play havoc on fragile dishes. We will keep distribution and sharing of what you have created to 3 min per team to keep things moving so the dishes you have created do not have to sit too long. Judges are aware that teams 5-7 have had their dishes sitting for 15+ min and will not be penalized for temperature etc. Strategically do keep in mind the order that your team registered and know your dish will "rest" after the end of cooking for that round.
 

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