Rich Rosendale is a chef, but like the boxer made film legend by Sylvester Stallone in 1976, he remains, above all, a fighter.
His documentary, The Contender, follows Rosendale’s journey as he trains to compete against 22 other chefs representing their country at the Bocuse d’Or, the most prestigious five-hour cooking competition in the world in 2013. Determined to land “Lady Liberty” on the podium for the first time, Rich and Team USA constructed a test kitchen in a decommissioned Cold War bunker to train in, attempting to match the feeling of being in the ring, right down to pumping in the sounds of cheering crowds.
Rosendale’s got upwards of 55 cooking bouts under his belt, including two tours at the Bocuse d’Or, making him the world’s most competitive. His skill allows him to hang his tall white hat at West Virginia’s Greenbrier Resort’s Tavern Room, serving as Executive Chef, the youngest to be appointed in the resort’s 200-year history.
During his illustrious career, he’s prepared meals for the Dubai Royal family, congress and even the President of the United States. It’s no surprise Rosendale is the youngest to ever reach the distinction of Certified Master Chef by the American Culinary Association, a title he shares with only 67 individuals. Rosendale recently sat down with Foodie Daily to discuss the Bocuse d’Or, whether he’ll ever compete in the Bocuse d’Or again and trying to find out what “American Cuisine” means.
Master Chef Rich Rosendale
I know it’s hard to put into words, but can you describe how it felt competing at the Bocuse d’Or?
When you first get selected, it’s kind of a blend of tremendous excitement and enthusiasm blended with sheer terror, because you’ve had an entire year of kind of having another full time job. So it’s excitement coupled with this enormous challenge you have inside of you.
In the documentary, your team did their best to sort of iron out what American Cuisine is. If you had to explain it simply, what foods and styles are quintessentially Yankee?
I think it depends on which chef you ask. There’s so many different cuisines, it’s sort of a wicker basket, weaving in and out of each other. Every chef will be reflecting a slice, their part of America. A chef that grows up in California, the pacific northwest versus somebody that grows up in the middle of the country or in New England, they’re all going to have slightly different takes on cuisine because it’s so regional and ever-changing.
It’s harder defining American Cuisine because if you look at Italian or Japanese cuisine, these cuisines have so much history, with dishes that are so iconic and cultural—I mean, everyone knows what Italian food is. American food is still kind of young in that process. We have iconic dishes, but it’s so robust. We’re such a big country.
You returned to the competition last year as a coach. What skills did you provide the team in your role as one of it’s leaders?
Every year, you take what you’ve learned and try to pass it on to the next candidate. I benefited from the people who had competed before me and when Phil competed, he benefited from everything I’ve learned.
You know, there’s only two people cooking, the chef and his assistant. But the reality is there’s a team behind that candidate. Our mission, our goal is to really provide direction, support and make sure they’re going to be able to excel at the competition.
Looking forward, are you going to try your hand at competing in the Bocuse d’Or again?
You know, I don’t know that I would ever want to compete in the competition again. I never rule anything out—of course, my wife would kill me if I ever suggested that I would do it again [Laughs]. But it’s a big commitment. Whether it’s your ego, or the competitive side of a chef that make anyone want to go back, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction helping someone else reach that level of cooking.
I’ve been there, I’ve learned so much from it, it’s had a profound impact on my life but I don’t know that that commitment—there’s a lot of people around me that sacrifice during the training, your family, your co-workers. They all go through the competition with you.
The plate Rosendale presented at the Bocuse d’Or, which featured his take on American Cuisine.
Since your experience, considering the appliances cost you some points during the judging portion, have you ever looked at Paco Jets and pressure cookers the same?
[Laughs] I do, and often times when Paco Jets come up in discussion…you know anytime you come into a cooking competition I tell everybody that you try to be prepared and organized as best you can, but the reality is that something is going to go wrong. And all you can do is go in there and expect that, try and keep your composure and try and cook the best food anyway. You know, it’s not the best food you can cook, it’s the best food you can cook under those extreme conditions. It’s incredible adversity, having to face the unknown like that.
What’s been the public response to The Contender so far?
I think that the movie, a lot of people might think that it’s just a movie about a chef. But I’ve had people reach out to me on social media, like people going through law school or people into fitness, they watched it and expectantly felt motivated. There are a lot of parallels there, for anyone setting up a goal and not worrying what the outcome is going to be, because challenges often change the trajectory of your life. But if you don’t set those goals and go after them until all conditions are right, you’re going to be waiting forever.
To watch The Contender, visit the documentary’s website.
