When sailors think of Naval Hospital Bremerton in Washington, they probably don’t think of award-winning barbecue ribs.
Thanks to Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Christopher Wojcik, that could change.
The Grants Pass, Oregon, native walked away from the 69th Annual Armed Forces Festival’s Culinary Arts Competition with a first place victory in the ribs category for cooking his uncle’s secret recipe for barbecue ribs.
In preparation for the May 6 contest, Wojcik made one key phone call. “I told my uncle that really needed his recipe — the one that’s a winner,” he said, according to a Defense Department press release.
The event, which began as a chili cookout 44 years ago, has morphed into a full-fledged cooking competition held in conjunction with Bremerton’s annual Armed Forces Day parade. Open to all military branches in the Puget Sound region, the event designed to give military cooks an opportunity to brandish their culinary prowess against one another.
This was Wojcik’s first time competing.
Several days before the event, Wojcik paid close attention to his barbecue pork ribs, continuously marinating, basting and seasoning. His efforts paid off; the resulting ribs became an entrée that “literally fell off the bone.”
Cmdr. Robert McMahon, the hospital’s director for administration, was so impressed by Wojcik’s ribs that he announced that the dish was to be added to the command’s menu schedule immediately. “[These ribs] are so good that we are going to replace the ribs we now offer with them on the 21-day menu rotation,” he said.
Sailor wins cooking competition
