Funk Finds Feasting (and Judging) Fun

Fred Funk (far left) served as a judge at an Ultimate Chef America event in Jacksonville, Fla.
Brookdale Senior Living

November 30, 2010

By Phil Stambaugh, PGA TOUR Staff

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—When Mission Nutrition went head to head and knife to knife against the Culinary Commandos at a recent showdown of the culinary elite, one could just about throw out the record books. From the Gulf Coast grouper with grilled Greek asparagus and a berry yogurt parfait to veal roulade along with Israeli coos-coos, grilled baak-choi and a chop-chop pineapple, creativity and healthy eating were recently on display at a chefs showdown called Ultimate Chef America at The Carriage Club, a Brookdale Senior Living community.

During the culinary cook-off, two different teams consisting of five professional chefs on each squad were charged with preparing four courses over a two-hour period while at the same time, focusing on healthy cooking for seniors. Neither team had Bobby Flay, Emeril LaGasse, Paula Deen or Wolfgang Puck as ringers, but each group was comprised of all-star chefs from various Brookdale Senior Living facilities around the state of Florida who were only able to use a grill to prepare the food.

The feature dishes fixed by each team at the event were eventually tasted by a panel of celebrity judges that included Champions Tour golfer Fred Funk, media personality Leeza Gibbons, Olympic medal-winning gymnast Shannon Miller, two-time Olympian and 11-time World Cup gold medal-winning skier Jeremy Bloom and Marcel Davignon, a lifelong member of the culinary arts.

“My grandparents were such a hugh influence in my life that I’ve always been drawn to seniors and this generation,” Bloom said. “It’s important that as a society we learn how to eat healthy and educate not only children but every generation.”

“This was a new experience for me. Throughout my career as a gymnast, I was the one being judged and to get to do this and eat really great food as well was really fun,” said Miller. “I also think we all learned something. It’s critical that we all learn how to eat healthy.”

Ultimate Chef America-Jacksonville was the last of six stops on a national tour that started in Phoenix on Jan. 28. The event also showcased throughout the year the culinary talents of Brookdale chefs in Dallas, Denver, Detroit and Atlanta. In addition to the more than 1,000 people who attended each function across the United States, there was a multi-city simulcast live via U-stream to not only local communities in the area, but also to those Brookdale communities which had a chef participating in the competition.

In addition to the cooking competition, the event also included a silent auction. Funk, the 2005 PLAYERS Championship winner, signed a PLAYERS Championship flag, and the Champions Tour donated it as one of the featured items at the auction. The 200 volunteers at The Carriage Club each received “Together, anything’s possible” lapel pins with discounted dining cards at TPC Sawgrass in their gift bags. Proceeds from the entire event went to the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation.

At the conclusion of the chefs’ competition, all of the judges sampled each of the courses from both teams. After tasting the food, they formulated their scores based on a points system. Up to 15 points were awarded per dish for taste, while five points per serving were based on presentation and five points per course for creativity.

“I had never done anything like this before. Both teams prepared really good dishes. They were all very light and tasty and were good for you, as well. It was a fun little competition,” Funk said.  

When the smoke finally cleared after 120 minutes of fast-paced action, Mission Nutrition proved to be the kings of cuisine, too much for the Culinary Commandos to handle. All of the judges agreed the squad’s Gulf Coast grouper and berry yogurt parfait was the difference that put them over the top, and Funk summed up his experience.

“It was one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever put in my mouth.”