Dec 16, 2012 By Jim Pletcher jpletcher@heraldstandard.Com 8 min read

At 37, Uniontown native Richard Rosendale is preparing for the greatest challenge of his life.

Rosendale, who some might call a culinary overachiever, is the executive chef at the famous Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. He already has won numerous culinary awards, had soup recipes published in People magazine and the Washington Post, and has appeared on NBC’s Today show. He also will provide one of the gifts in the annual Neiman Marcus Christmas Fantasy catalog — a $250,000 dinner for 10 he will prepare along with three other top chefs.

Now, Rosendale is after gold.

The challenge and his goal is to obtain top prize at the international culinary competition Bocuse d’Or in Lyon, France, Jan. 29 and 30, at Eurexpo during the Sirha tradeshow. No American has ever achieved higher than sixth place in the event.

“This is regarded as the most prestigious international cooking competition. An American has never placed on the podium, which would be first, second or third-place. The chefs involved are the world’s top chefs,” said Rosendale, one of only about 60 certified master chefs (CMC) in America.

Rosendale won gold at last year’s American Bocuse d’Or, which qualified him for the international contest. He and his partner, commis (junior chef) Chef Corey Siegel, 21, a culinary apprentice at the Greenbrier, will be cooking against chefs from 24 countries in the international contest.

Chef Paul Bocuse created the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in 1987 in order to broaden the public’s understanding of the extraordinary dedication, hard work, practice and precision required to execute the very finest cuisine.

The Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest is the most rigorous international culinary competition, held every two years in Lyon. Each country’s team is comprised of one chef and one commis assistant.

Teams are given five and a half hours to create two elaborate platter presentations, one centered around seafood and one on meat, each accompanied by three original garnishes. The platters are presented before 24 judges, each of whom is among the most esteemed chefs in his/her own country. The judges evaluate the overall harmony of flavors in the dish, the presentation of the platter, the techniques employed and the efficiency in which the teams work.

Working with Siegel, Rosendale said, completes the requirements, since his assistants cannot be older than 22.

Siegel was born in Schenectady, N.Y., and began cooking at age 14. He developed a deep passion for the culinary arts and attended The Culinary Institute of America. Following his graduation, Siegel worked at the Park Country Club in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. He joined the team at The Greenbrier in West Virginia and enrolled in the apprenticeship program at the resort — an intensive program that Rosendale oversees. Rosendale selected Siegel to be his commis for the Bocuse d’Or USA finals this past January.

In addition to his restaurant experience, Siegel won Northeast Regional Student Chef of the Year for the American Culinary Federation (ACF) in 2010. He also has an ACF gold medal and three silver medals.

Meanwhile, such a competition, Rosendale said, “also helps me with recruiting. Young culinaries are easier to recruit when they hear about all the things going on at the Greenbrier,” he said.

Rosendale is a son of Sharon Rosendale of Uniontown and Richard Rosendale, former Greene County prothonotary. His uncle, the late Charlie Rosendale, was chief photographer at the Herald-Standard newspaper for years.

The chef and his wife Laura, who have been together since the seventh grade, have two children, Laurence and Liam Carlo, who was born this year.

After a long career in the culinary field, including a stint at being a restaurant owner, Rosendale became the executive chef and director of food and beverage at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., a premier facility so well-placed it once housed an underground compound designed to hold the nation’s leaders in a time of crisis (the bunker remains but is no longer slated for that purpose).

Rosendale said there also has been a lot more media attention to Bocuse d’Or because America has a team in it.

“I am absolutely excited about it. To be able to do this and have all the people who are supporting me is so special. When you go [to France] there are about 4,000 spectators and media taking pictures all the time. There are a lot of distractions you have to contend with while cooking,” Rosendale said.

For the Bocuse d’Or, Rosendale has prepared a beef menu that will include tenderloin, oxtail and beef cheeks. “I just got the fish,” which will include turbot and European lobsters.

Once prepared, the foods will be placed on platters, some worth thousands of dollars, and be paraded around the arena for photos before being presented to the judges. Rosendale said that for his fish menu, he will receive a number of mystery ingredients the night before the competition “so I will have to figure the rest of the menu out there.”

His serving platter design, he added, is based on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater at Mill Run.

Rosendale has been mentored by the Bocuse Foundation’s Board of Directors, Chefs Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and Jerome Bocuse, and Team USA coaches Chefs Gavin Kaysen (head coach), Grant Achatz and Gabriel Kreuther.

“There is a lot involved, and it is very expensive to compete,” Rosendale said. His coaches and foundation directors held a fundraising dinner in New York that raised $750,000 and was attended by culinary greats like Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart.

“We have done other dinners — one in Houston for $2,500 a plate. Some of that also benefits charity,” he said.

During his training for the international competition, Rosendale has been “all over the U.S., to Belgium and France. There are about 25 people involved in [my participation in the Bocuse d’Or] — marketing people, PR people, coaches.

“I even hired a trainer to help me stay in good physical condition,” Rosendale said, adding that part of his recent workout included boxing. “He is helping me stay in shape, not necessarily just for the competition, but also to make my schedule every day.”

Rosendale’s day begins at 7 a.m. when he takes his son Laurence to the bus stop and often doesn’t end until 11 p.m. He credits his wife for her “tremendous support” of his work.

“We both went to Uniontown High School. We have been together since seventh grade,” he said. “Laura has been with me every year that I have worked. We have a great relationship and she supports me. There is no way I could ever do it without that support.”

He said training to compete in the Bocuse d’Or has been ongoing.

“Some people may ask, ‘What’s the point of doing this competition?’ From my perspective, it’s a dream. But it’s also great for marketing. Countries that have teams that have won can use it to build their brand and increase tourism.

“It’s the same thing for the U.S. We have a reputation for many great restaurants that have opened and, naturally, we want to add to that. The owner at the Greenbrier has supported me. He puts the coaches that come down to work with me up at the hotel. He looks at it as great exposure. It’s great marketing for the hotel,” he said.

Coaches visit the Greenbrier to help him once or twice a month.

Rosendale’s career began with home economics classes in high school and culinary training at Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood, which has created a scholarship in his name.

Most of his background has been working for major corporations, including a previous stint at the Greenbrier as chef de cuisine and Ritz Carlton. He started his professional work at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington.

He also has collected a shopping list of honors and awards along the way, including more than 35 national and international medals.

Rosendale has a Presidential Medallion from the American Culinary Federation for his contributions to the culinary arts. He was named the 2005 Chef of the Year in San Antonio, Texas by the American Culinary Federation.

Rosendale is also a certified professional ice carver. He has carved pieces ranging from one- to 50-block creations. Also, during his career, he has cooked for many different celebrities and supervised meals for U.S. congress and President George Bush.