“When you’re in the mountains, you don’t follow your menu,” said United States Army veteran Christopher Esguerra, who served as a cook in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

“Whatever they have is what you use. Supply is very rare.”

***

Who better to know difficult situations to cook in and thrive in a “for fun” competition, than current and former military chefs? Dutiful service members, they faced more than elimination from a gameshow and a quick pack of their knives. They faced the dire predicament that they underfed men and women who needed every calorie and ounce of energy they could get — with their lives on the line.

The hypothetical has become the actual, in a tradition founded by a man named Ed Manley, a regular advocate for veterans and homeless veterans, who uses his own nonprofit programs (Military Hospital Alliance and Veterans Support Network) to empower former troops with expertise in the hospitality industry. Cooking being at the forefront.

This year, for the first time in Las Vegas at the Tropicana, his competition known as the Military Culinary Competition went off to rave reviews, as eight teams of four vet cooks vied for more than $7,000 in prizes.

Three tasting judges and three kitchen judges evaluated their performance.

Even culinary celebrity showed up, with TV star and former Royal Navy chef Robert Irvine taking in the spectacle.

“The military teaches leadership skills, teamwork, organization skills that you don’t necessarily have in the outside world. It teaches you how to problem-solve quickly while being calm,” he said.

As for the final results of the showdown, this from the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

After two rounds of competition, it comes down to a team from the Army Reserves and a team from the Navy in a tag team format. Audience member Susan Staed of Green Bay, Wisconsin, watched intently with a practiced eye honed on watching lots of TV cooking competitions.

“That last team, their menu was very sophisticated,” Staed said, while, “the last time, they used beer in their Alfredo sauce. So that was very interesting.”

Staed was in town for a conference and found the competition while checking out entertainment possibilities for the weekend. She left with both a photo of herself with Irvine and cooking tips from a few of the chefs.

“They were very nice to take time to tell me what they were doing,” she said.

When the competition ends, it’s one of Wolf’s Army Reserves teams that takes home the grand prize.

To watch the veterans in action, click the following clip below: