Ellsworth’s Top Chef

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lauren Wright
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AFB, S.D. --  He's served Condoleezza Rice and Newt Gingrich. During his tour at the Pentagon, the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force devoured his recipes. Now, Tech. Sgt. Wesley Williams, 28th Services Squadron, is bringing his 14 years of culinary experience to Ellsworth as the Bandit Inn dining facility manager.

Sergeant Williams is responsible for all food service activities at the Bandit Inn here. He also supervises a team of roughly 40 people that provide meals to nearly 500 Airmen and retirees each day.

"My job is to make sure food service operation is running at full throttle," Sergeant Williams said. "I make sure all key personnel in key positions are following Air Force food service guidelines."

Sergeant Williams comes to Ellsworth with an impressive resume. He's served ambassadors and presidents of African nations as the headquarters chef for the deputy European commander. He was also stationed at the Air Force Executive Dining Facility at Headquarters Air Force in the Pentagon. There he was promoted from a primary worker to NCO in charge of all areas of the facility, including wait staff, kitchen production, purchasing and receiving, and catering.

Sergeant Williams has also been point-man for the personal dining room of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Secretary of the Air Force where he served strictly Air Force General's, civilian equivalents and their distinguished guests.

"It was very exciting to be a part of the Pentagon staff," he said. "(As a member of the staff) you go to school to really learn how to present things well. The schooling up there really brought everything together for me."

Sergeant Williams was trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and briefly attended Stratford University's culinary program. Now he's bringing those skills to Ellsworth Airmen.

"I wanted to come to food service at the base level because I wanted to come back to the dining facility and teach the new guys that there is more than one way to do things," he said.

Sergeant Williams' efforts at Ellsworth have also affected unit morale, said 2nd Lt. Matthew Dunn, 28th Services Squadron combat support flight commander. For instance, in late October Sergeant Williams hosted a gourmet style going away for two of the Airmen in his unit and he's constantly striving to improve.

Sergeant Williams watches culinary television shows and has a food resource center at home, consisting of cookbooks, articles and magazines.

"He takes pride in his kitchen and instills that pride in other Airmen," Lieutenant Dunn said.

To help foster that pride, Sergeant Williams started placing cards in front of entrees with the name of the chef who prepared it.

"When people find a dish they like, they ask for the chef who prepared the meal to thank the cooks one-on-one," Lieutenant Dunn said.

That "thank you" is one of the joys of cooking, according to Sergeant Williams.

"There is a thrill in having people compliment you on how your food looks and tastes," he said.

Want to receive those compliments this holiday season?

As an alternative to turkey and ham, try one of Sergeant Williams' most impressive recipes: Rainbow fruit stuffed pork tenderloin with cheddar fried grits and blueberry coulis.

Ingredients: Rainbow Fruit Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin
1 pack dried mixed fruit--coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary--coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme--coarsely chopped
4 garlic gloves--finely chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cracker pepper corns
Olive oil
Parsley for garnish

Recipe Instructions: Rainbow Fruit Stuffed Pork tenderloin

Fabricate the tenderloin by cutting off all silver skin. Coarsely chop bag mixed fruit in food processor. Insert a metal dowel or tool into the end of the meat. Stuff the fruit inside. Season the tenderloin with the olive oil and dry herbs. Sear the tenderloin on all sides in a very hot pan. Cover the meat and finish cooking it in a 350-degree oven until the center of the meat reaches 165 degrees. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. Let it rest for about 15 minutes depending on meat size. Cut into medallions.

Ingredients: Cheddar Fried Grits

2 cups water
1 cup grits
1/4 stick of butter
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup flour
2 cups panko bread crumbs
4 eggs for egg wash
1 cup milk divided
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Recipe Instructions: Cheddar Grits

Heat two cups of water in a pot until boiling. Add the grits, stir continuously until finished cooking. Add the butter, ½ cup of milk, cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the grits into a square pan and put it into the refrigerator until completely chilled. Wait about 30 minutes. After the grits have chilled completely, cut the grits out with a small biscuit cutter. Cautiously flour, egg wash and bread crumb onto each circled grit. Fry in hot oil until golden brown.

Ingredients: Blueberry Coulis

1 pint fresh blueberries--take out some for garnish
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoon sugar
Water to cover blueberries

Recipe Instructions: Blueberry Coulis

Pour the blueberries along with the water (just enough to almost cover the blueberries) and sugar into a pan. Boil until all blueberries have cooked. Strain the cooked blueberries from the liquid and add the lemon and orange peel. Let steep until cool.

Recipe Instructions: Plating

Put coulis in the middle of the plate. Center a piece of the cheddar grits in the coulis. Place one medallion on top of the grits. Continue this process until there is two pieces of meat along with the two pieces of grits. Garnish with the remaining blueberries and parsley.