Culinary Olympian

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The story below is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

Editor's Note, 2/8/24: CONGRATULATIONS to Chef Polfelt and Team USA! They placed SILVER in both Restaurant of Nations AND Chef's Table! Read all about how they did it and what it entailed in our feature below, or get a sneak peek in our Season 2's first episode segment below:

A five-course story on Roanoke’s role in the biggest culinary competition on the planet.

Course 1: Amuse-Bouche — A Taste of What’s to Come

On November 6 and 7, a few lucky Roanokers got to have a first-class meal so rare that only a couple thousand people in the world will ever get to taste it: three courses made by six of the best chefs in the country, hand-selected to represent the United States in the biggest culinary competition in the world.

Taste: exquisite. Presentation: exceptional. Details? Confidential.

Course 2: Appetizer — What Are the Culinary Olympics?

Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef, The Great British (and American!) Bake Off – Americans love cooking competitions. So it’s curious you don’t hear more about the International Exhibition of Culinary Art, better known as the Culinary Olympics.

Divided into National, Military and Community Teams and Regional and Individual Exhibitors, the Culinary Olympics were initially conceived in 1896 by a group of German chefs who wanted to showcase their national foods while also learning from other nations.

In the decades since, it’s grown to include as many as 56 countries. This year’s Culinary Olympics main event, the National Competition, will feature 30 teams of six chefs representing their homes.

Like the Winter and Summer Olympics, the culinary Olympics occur every four years, and its teams are very selective. Coaches choose only six chefs from across the entirety of the United States.

And Roanoke is lucky to have one of those six.

Course 3: First Main Course — Ted Polfelt, the Coaches & the Team

Chef Ted Polfelt has been cooking in Roanoke since he was a young man. His first job was at the Brambleton Deli. Since then, he’s worked as Executive Chef for the Jefferson Management Group (which owns 419 West, Frankie Rowland's Steakhouse and more) and Roanoke Country Club and as a full-time Instructor at Virginia Western’s Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program.

He’s part-owner at Brood Restaurant and Bar, along with his continued work at the country club and instruction.

While he started out loving the feel of restaurant work, Polfelt later fell in love with the art of cooking as he studied at Johnson and Wales University for his degree in Culinary Arts.

He continued his education by competing in regional competitions, eventually setting his sights on the most competitive team in the country.

Polfelt first tried out in 2016. While he didn’t get it then, he racked up several other awards in the following years, including the American Culinary Federation’s Best Regional Chef for the Southeast region. In 2020, he tried again, and this time, he was selected for the prestigious honor.

Chef Polfelt describes his job on the team as “a little bit of everything.”

Pastry Manager Chef Susan Notter agrees but adds that he’s “the glue between the different components” of the team. She adds the team needs to be able to work well together, and as Polfelt moves quickly between the other hard-working chefs and various dinner elements, he helps to make that happen.

Notter is a five-time Olympic competitor as a chef or coach. This year, she’s beginning work as a judge apprentice so she can continue to be involved in all the excitement without all the pressure!

Team Assistant Manager Chef Randy Torres says that in some ways, even beyond his cooking skills, Polfelt’s biggest strength is his demeanor and team-orientedness, which can be a rarity since “chefs are known for having big egos!”

In addition to Polfelt, the team has five other chefs:  Team Captain Dan Holtgrave, Logan Christensen and James K. Storm, Jr. of St Louis, Missouri, Troman Venido Felizmenio of Palm Desert, California and Timothy Recher of Naples, Florida.

All are well-decorated with multiple awards.

Several Virginia Western students and other local chefs came to observe this incredible team in their 6 hours of preparation that preceded the dinner.

One observer was Diallo Graves, Executive Sous Chef at the Lynchburg Country Club. Since he’s currently studying for his Chef de Cuisine test, he was there to learn and “experience how accurate they are.”

Precision is a major theme in the coach’s training. They’re “scrutinizing to the nth degree,” says Torres.

Watching the team practice, onlookers notice there are more than six people in the kitchen. That’s because the coaching staff is also on hand.

Today, they’re there to advise. But coaches aren’t permitted in the kitchen during the Olympic event in February. They watch through the glass with everyone else.

Also in the kitchen is sous chef Shane Wilder.  Wilder’s job is organizational. He can do set up and cleaning, but he is not allowed to be part of the food preparation. As a former student of Torres, he came to him and told him he’d like to participate on the next team.

“This is the path,” Torres told him.

Course 4: Second Main Course — Food & Competition

The National Team Face-off is divided into two parts: the Restaurant of Nations and the Chef’s Table.

In the Restaurant of Nations, each country’s team must feed 110 people three courses each. For the Chef’s Table, ten individuals are served a seven-course meal, which they watch prepared live through a glass-walled show kitchen beside the team.

Polfelt has been training with the other five US chefs in college kitchens nationwide. On November 6 and 7, they visited his hometown to practice at Virginia Western’s Al Pollard kitchen.

Their dedication is enormous.

For Polfelt, the time required is the most difficult part of participating. He juggles a family, two chef jobs and full-time teaching work on top of his team responsibilities.

In some other competing countries, the government foots the bill for them, paying for ingredients, travel and chef salaries so they can take off from work.

Team USA is entirely self-funded. They have to fundraise and gain sponsorships to cover their way.

One such sponsor is Fred Najjum, owner of Roanoke Fruit and Produce, who donated many of the ingredients for the November dinner.

He was one of the lucky few people who got to taste their menu.

While the specifics of their dishes are still under (saran) wraps to maintain competitive advantage, Najjum and the other attendees were effusive, though contractually undetailed, in their praise.

“The presentation - absolutely stunning. The flavors - perfectly executed - like a dining experience you would have in DC or Europe. I don’t think it hit home with everybody how exclusive it was … less than 1,000 people or 1,500 people in the world will taste that lineup.”

The US team will cook up the chef’s table on February 3, the first day of the competition, against Portugal, Ireland, Australia, Netherlands and Canada.

On February 5, they’ll square up against Portugal, Ireland, Australia, Netherlands and Canada in the Restaurant of Nations.

Each day, judges will taste the food and give out medals while onlookers cheer on their teams.

Unique in Olympic events, some attendees can go beyond spectating. For the cost of 140 Euros ($168), you can enjoy seven courses at the Chef’s Table. Or for 89 euros (roughly $107), experience the Restaurant of Nations.

When you consider six of the finest chefs from their representative countries will craft the menus, it’s a paltry fee for any respectable foodie.

Of course, not everyone can afford to make the trip to Germany. Each experience is limited (with 110 seats per team for the Restaurant of Nations and only 10 for the chef’s table!), so not everyone interested will get their chance for a taste. Tasting tickets sell out many months ahead.

Course 5: Dessert — Back to Roanoke

Luckily, even if you can’t be in Germany, you can watch from home anywhere in the world via IKA’s online streaming channel.

The excitement will be palpable as each team tries to wow the judges in some of the highest-pressure cooking circumstances on the planet.

But though you may be able to cut the tension with a fork from a distance, you’ll have to stop by the Roanoke Country Club or Brood to dig in yourself.

Chef Polfelt is bringing home a lot of what he’s learned. Cooking is like telling a story, and the more he travels and competes, the longer, more interesting and tastier the story gets.

Roanokers are privileged to be able to read a page or two ourselves.

Fred Najjum agrees, saying, “I think something that should be stressed is how big of a deal it is for Ted to be involved...to have somebody you know from Roanoke on that team is really something else.” 

The story above is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!