Her other life

"Chef Anna McClintock" has a nice ring to it. While we know her best as our in-house trumpet player, Anna has been steadily honing her cooking craft in the department of culinary arts and hospitality at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

Anna is part of a four-person team that recently (last April) won a regional competition which landed them a place in the national "final four," with an upcoming cook-off in Orlando. A-B Tech's team placed second in the finals in 2006, won it all in 2007, missed the finals by 0.06 points in 2008. They are ready to win this year.

I recently spoke to Anna about an upcoming music gig and quickly realized her mind is truly focused on cooking these days. Once the competition is over she plans to dive into seeking a chef job, perhaps in Raleigh. But even job-hunting is playing second fiddle to preparing for the Orlando competition, where the A-B Tech team will be up against the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute (Pittsburgh Chapter); Schoolcraft College (Livonia, MI); and Kapi-olani Community College from Honolulu, HI.

The competition is set for July 13. Teams have 3 hours 20 minutes to work their magic in preparation and cooking, 40 minutes to plate the 24 (yes, twenty-four) servings of their appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts, plus 30 minutes to set their mis en plas and 30 minutes to clean up.

We know Anna as a phenomenal trumpet players, with a clear tone, accuracy in pitch and excellent skills at learning the part on her own and showing up to rehearsal fully prepared. I have known only a little about her cooking "self." What a delight to know she excels at cooking the same way she does at music.

Please have a good thought for Anna McC. and her team next week as they travel and compete. The team is still trying to raise the last few of the $10,000 travel cost. Visit the team's site and make a pledge if you can!

Thanks to Mountain Xpress for carrying information about the A-B Tech team and the upcoming competition.