Well-Fought Match,
Well-DeserveD Win
Kendall College students are 2011 Knowledge Bowl champions.
By Desmond Keefe, CEC, CCE
THE STAGE was set, and it was down
to four teams vying to win the national Baron
H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl title.
Each team had earned the right to appear in
the finals by winning their regional titles. Now
they would compete in hopes of being named
national champion.
Michael McGreal, CEC, CCE, CHE, CHA,
MCFE, FMP, was Knowledge Bowl moderator,
putting the students at ease and helping
them shake off the jitters. I was the lead judge
for this year’s competition, joined by judges
Jeffrey Bricker, CEC, CCE, AAC, and James
W. Paul II, MS, CSC, CCE, FMP. Samuel Glass,
CEC, CCE, AAC, was timekeeper.
come from the culinary world, specifically,
from books selected by the ACFEF Culinary
Knowledge Bowl Task Force.
Left to right: Paige Rogers, Robert Baki, Gabriele
Ausraite and Jacob Clara, 2011 national
Knowledge Bowl champions, go up against
the coaches’ team following the contest.
Not pictured, Jacqueline Wallner, captain.
The National Culinary Review | September 2011
76
This year’s competition was a special
one, as it was the 20th anniversary of the
Knowledge Bowl. At each of the four regional
conferences, the anniversary was celebrated
with former competitors featured as guest
judges. In addition, a “Where Are They Now”
page on ACF’s website featured former
participants and their achievements.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
If you’ve seen the television show “Jeopardy,”
then you have an idea of the concept of
this competition. The differences are: there
are teams of five (four competitors and an
alternate); you do not have to answer in the
form of a question; and the questions all
The double-elimination format of the
competition means that if a team loses a
round, it will drop to the “loser’s bracket” and
still have the opportunity to compete for the
title. Over the years, there have been several
instances of a team dropping to the “loser’s
bracket” only to arise victorious by winning
every subsequent round. This includes
beating an undefeated team twice in the final
round to receive the honor of being named
Knowledge Bowl champion.
