Fairchild airman wins culinary challenge and internship with chef Chad White

Teriyaki salmon with lemon couscous, butternut squash and a side of chorizo stew. That was airman Robert Gates IV’s winning creation in a cooking contest at Fairchild Air Force Base on Tuesday.

Gates competed with senior airmen Dean Tagalan and Samson Oluyori, all assigned to the 92nd Force Support Squadron, in the Achieving Culinary Excellence challenge at the base’s Warrior Dining Facility.

The three airmen were given one hour to cook a meal from a mystery box containing a variety of secret ingredients which were then judged by leadership from the Force Support Squadron at Fairchild, along with Chef Chad White, a veteran who began his career as a culinary specialist in the U.S. Navy and is currently an honorary commander at Fairchild.

“Winning the holiday ACE challenge was such a thrilling surprise,” Gates said. “The recognition for my dish made the win incredibly rewarding, especially with the tough competition I faced throughout the challenge.”

The mystery box ingredients included salmon, couscous, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, butternut squash, chorizo and espresso. The airmen were allowed to use any other ingredients already in the kitchen.

“Using those unique secret ingredients was a fantastic challenge,” Gates said. He used the breakfast cereal to sweeten the curry and as a rub on the salmon, which caramelized in the oven.

After completing each of the dishes, the contestants showcased their work in front of spectators and three judges. The judges tried each of the three dishes and rated them based on factors like creativity, plate presentation and flavor profiles and after deliberating on each meal, they declared Gates as the winner.

“I remember as a young culinarian how important it was to have a culinary professional to judge my work,” White explained. “It inspired me to always do bigger and better things.”

White was impressed with how each competitor improvised with their ingredients.

But Gates cooked his couscous “perfectly,” White said. “It was light, fluffy, flavorful.” And his salmon was the best. “It wasn’t dried out, had good flavor.”

White, who competed in Season 13 of “Top Chef” and opened three restaurants in the Spokane area, will mentor Gates through an internship where he can experience working in a professional kitchen.

“This will be an opportunity to stage with me for three days learning advanced techniques and skills, working on the line in a professional restaurant and connecting through mentorship to find out what his goals are,” White said.