As a nicely seasoned WFC food fighter – and the 2014 World Recipe Champion – I’ve come up with a pre-competition checklist that I recommend you use as your base for getting yourself prepared for WFC.  If you watched the World Food Championships show on FYI this summer, you saw how I could have used this list last year!  My advice…Use a list and check it twice… maybe three times!

Make no mistake, World Food Championships will likely be the most intense experience of your life. Being prepared is critical to success at WFC.  I saw everyone from professional chefs to winning competition cooks crumble under the pressure of the World Food Championships.

Besides having the most delicious dish in your category how can you crush your fellow competitors in the midst of such an intense competition?  I have the secret.  Are you listening? Taking notes? Ok, here it is. It’s really simple. Be organized and mind the clock.

I almost didn’t get to the Final Table as the Category Champion because I didn’t check and double check my product list and leading me to have to mind the clock a little too closely! This caused a lot of stress and I almost didn’t get to the next level in the competition because I forgot an ingredient. Learn from my fumble… getting organized starts right now. The countdown is on!

Here are some important things to think about and to do right now while you are still on your home turf.

“Plan and Prepare” Stuff to do before you attend WFC 2014

Travel:

You may have your travel already arranged (nicely done), if not, it’s time to start getting your travel plans in place. Flights aren’t getting any cheaper and rooms are getting sold-out. If you are looking for a hotel room, check out this room block at The Plaza Hotel. If you can spare the time and an extra night stay, make your travel reservations to have you arriving a little early – maybe even a day earlier… get yourself comfortable and set-up in your hotel room – Give yourself breathing time.

Teaming up:

Have you decided if are you going it alone or will you have a team? If you are in Chili or BBQ you most definitely have a team. All other categories, you have to decide, how helpful will it be to have a team member?   Is it in your budget to bring someone along or do you have a generous, food-talented friend that will come on their own dime? Maybe you can enlist a culinary student in Las Vegas to help with your prep work.  Or, will you just go it alone because too many cooks in the kitchen can spoil the soup? I highly recommend bringing on a helper or team mate. World Food Championships is a labor intensive competition.  You will need someone to collaborate with, have extra hands and… collaborative support is a really good thing at WFC.

If you decide to bring in a helper-cook, it’s important to begin collaboration with this person/team to get to see your vision and how you want it executed. Keep in mind, things can get tight with 10×10 space, equipment, food, coolers and more… so, it’s important to make sure the members of your team are organized and useful.

Getting and staying organized:

Get a great big binder with tabs for each area that relates to the competition.

Here are some ideas for categories for a binder:

• Travel information
• A map of the competition area and of the WFC
• Recipes
• Recipe time-line
• A list of ingredients
• Product sourcing
• A list of equipment

• Pictures of all items
• The WFC rules- The EAT method
• A time-line of the competition
• A time-line of the social events at WFC
• Build level competition details
• I suggest adding step-by-step pictures of your dish as you make it. This is especially great if you have a sous chef

Know every aspect of the rules and more:

• Print and know the Competitor Packet- Read and reread the rules!- This will help you to be very focused.
• Print and know the layout of the entire event- It will be nice to know, ahead of the game where you are going and how long it will take to get there.
• What is your competition timing? meetings, turn-in times, etc. This is all in your Category Competitor Packet- Knowing all the timing is uber important.
• Know the events related to the event- You should have some fun and mingle!!!
• Have your recipes and ingredient lists ready and printed.  You will need to bring these to the Cook’s Meetings.
• Having them printed and ready to staple onto the turn-in card will be one thing you won’t have to worry about on-site if you prepare this all ahead of time.

Here’s something that might come in handy- Consider bringing a little office supply box.  You just never know when you may need a stapler, paper clips, a pair of scissors, tape, a marker, a pen, or a lighter (pilot lights going out can be an issue). Scrambling to get these items from the hotel business center is an option…but why not have your own …Nice idea, right?

Practice:

You know the old adage… Practice makes perfect.  Once you have come up with your amazing prize winning recipes  you have to practice, practice and practice some more… Make it so that the people in your life get really sick of eating your prize winning dishJ.  Also, get them to do your dishes, ‘cause, you’ve just fed them…and you’ve got to focus on the important things like… cooking the best food of your life! 

Make sure you have what you need:

Think about each step and what you may need.  Is it a small box of foil, wrap, some disposable foil pans, disposable kitchen gloves, a hair net, etc?  During your last practice session create your competition dish as you would for WFC.  While in your practice session, compile all the things you’ll need to create your final plate for the competition.  For example: the spatulas, forks, appliances, the ingredients and every little thing you use to create the dish.  As you go through the process of making your dish, once you are done with an item, clean it and pack these items to be sent on. If you are taking the items with you, put them right in your luggage. Do it this way and you’ll know you have everything you need to complete your dish. Also, I took pictures of my process to help me with my set-up once I arrived in my Kenmore Kitchen set. This was very helpful.

Here is another tip:

Pack a box with all your goods and send it to your hotel, if your budget allows, this may be the way to go. Put together a bubble-wrapped box of your goods and send them to your hotel.  Carry your most important items with you. If you need knives or small appliances or anything sharp, you probably won’t be able to bring it on the plane.

Turn-in platter and presentation:

Plan for the plates/bowls you need for your turn-in presentation. You’ll want to get the plates and presentation pieces prior to arriving in Las Vegas- This’ll be helpful to have together prior to arrival. The oval “turn-in” platter is 12×19. You will need to have 5 smaller dishes for the judges and one presentation dish.  You do not need to provide utensils for the judges.  You should also plan out your edible or floral garnish.

Confidence comes from feeling prepared and if you are all set-up and ready to go, have all your supplies and ingredients. You will be feeling like a serious contender!

And….There is something new and exciting happening this year at World Food Championship, maybe you have heard.  An army of Bloggers will be in your midst!  This is the inaugural year of The World Food Championships FoodFightWrite! Food Blogger Conference. The Conference is being held at The Plaza Hotel and Casino but you will also see them within the Hummhub, Bull tent area, at the WFC Welcome Cocktail party and at the POP Party at Hummhub on Thurs. Nov. 13^th at 7pm  (have you RSVP’d yet?)   If you see a group of people with cameras, notepads, working their smart phones, it’s likely bloggers from FFW14. Stop and say “hi”! They may want to interview you about your experience at WFC.

Whew! That’s a lot of information!

Did I blow your mind? Lots to consider, but all part of a good food fight! None of this info should be too fresh for you because you are already champion competitors coming into WFC.  Being a champion burger-maker or recipe developer or having reached sweet levels of competition success with your tasty desserts. That’s how you got to this level of play, right?  It’s time to compete at your very best.  I hope this advice will bring you to your biggest prize yet as the winner of the World Food Championships in Las Vegas 2014! Good Luck!

Hope to meet you out there!