Regional Hot Competition

Appetizer

I recently competed in yet another culinary competition, but this one was different. It was a team competition, rather than individual, and it was a regional competition - with teams from different cities competing against each other. It was my first competition in a totally unfamiliar kitchen as well, one I only got a tour of an hour before the competition started. 
Our mandatory black box ingredients, supplemented by a nice parstock list, were as follows:

Entree

3 kg Scallops 10/20 count
30 Squid Tubes, 60g each/7.5-10cm
6 kg Mussels
8 Local Free Range Chicken (Small 900g - 1 kg)
1.2kg Pork Belly Rind On
600g Local Purple Radishes 'Kn-Bravo'
4 Fennel
1.8kg Golden Beets
6 Lemongrass Stalks
3.6kg Savoy Cabbage
3kg Local Mustu/Crispin Apples
1.5kg Frozen Wild Blueberries
600ml Maple Syrup
300g Dark or Milk Chocolate Callebaut Crisperals

I am extremely proud of our team. We have been practicing for months and felt very comfortable with the execution, timing, taste, and presentation of the menu we decided on. We had an excellent kitchen mark (40% of the final score comes from how well we work in the kitchen - cleanliness, cooking techniques, product utilization, etc.), with only a few minor blips. We felt very happy about our plates and immediately following plating, all felt it was the best we had ever done and we had nailed each and every component. We were super proud. 

Dessert

The rest was up to the tasting judges - always subject to some matters of opinion. Although we did not place first in the tasting, we did come out of the competition with higher scores than all the senior teams, and with silver medals! Congratulations to all competitors and a huge thank you to my team members - I could not ask for a better team!