Two local chefs will soon discover the answer to the age old question, ?Where?s the beef?? when they go on an all-expenses paid meat tour of the United States after winning an international cooking competition in Mexico.

Dean Dupuis, chef de cuisine of LaCoquille Restaurant, and Graham Williams, Head Chef of the Riddells Bay Golf Club, won top spots in the International Food Service Competition, part of the sixth annual United States Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Mexican and Caribbean Chef Competition held in August.

USMEF is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the American red meat industry and is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Other local chefs ? Rick Bartram, of Elbow Beach, and Eddie Smith of Mediterraneo Ristorante ? placed seventh and eighth in the competition.

?We thought it was a relaxed competition until we got there and saw how serious it was,? said Mr. Dupuis. ?It was more serious than any of us thought it was going to be. It was well organised all around.?

The prize giving ceremony was broadcast live on Mexican television and the President of Mexico was in the audience.

The competition required finalists to cook a home-style recipe in Mexico City at the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Before the competition, the chefs had to send in two ?home chef? recipes featuring beef bottom sirloin tri-tip and center cut pork loin. The recipes had to use available ingredients from the island and cooking styles that could easily be repeated in Caribbean kitchens.

Not until hours before the contest began did the chefs know which of the two recipes would be selected for them to prepare. Their award winning recipes will be used in USMEF promotions, and will also become part of a USMEF cookbook.

The entire dish and accompaniments had to be completed in two hours and then presented for tasting and critique to a panel of five professional judges. Six winners were selected from twelve Caribbean finalists, and from the Mexico contingency, nine winners were announced from fifteen finalists. Combined they make 15 winners from the Caribbean and Mexico region.

The Bermuda contestants had to work around some obstacles such as receiving the wrong ingredients.

?We were given the wrong ingredients mainly because of translation problems,? he said. ?I asked for plain yoghurt and I got vanilla yoghurt.?

Mr. Bartram was similarly hampered when he asked for soaked beans and received dried beans. The alternative - canned beans - was unthinkable.

?So I had to cook them over a period of two hours, whereas I should have been able to cook them in over 20 minutes,? Mr. Bartram said.

The actual cut of meat - tri-tips also presented a challenge for the competing chefs.

?There is one piece per cow from the bottom sirloin,? team leader Garry Roman of Butterfield & Vallis explained. ?It is two and half pounds of meat per cow. It is just an uncommon piece of meat that no one chooses to use.?

Mr. Dupuis said tri-tips are not normally used as a steak meat, and can taste terrible if under or overcooked.

The group also received a shock when they ate what they mistakenly thought was ?Mexican barley?. It turned out to be a traditional Mexican treat of ant larvae and worms.

Mr. Dupuis and Mr. Williams won $1,000 in cash and a nine day, all expenses paid meat-focused trip.

Among the many activities planned are a tour of a meat-cutting facility and seminars with meat and food service experts in New York City, and a tour of Northern California including San Francisco and the wine country.

A highlight of the visit will be a tour of Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley where the chefs will spend two days in classes studying Asian and Spanish cuisine.

The group will also dine at some of the top restaurants in New York, San Francisco and the Napa Valley.

?The chefs will enhance their own awareness of American culinary operations during the tour of the United States,? said Elizabeth Wunderlich, Caribbean Manager of USMEF. ?They have an opportunity to see how food is produced and consumed in the United States while meeting their peers in the culinary profession at some of the most innovative restaurants in the country.?

After the tour, Mr. Williams and Mr. Dupuis are expected to become ambassadors for American meat products in Bermuda.

?I don?t think we entered it for money, it was more for the experience of it,? said Mr. Bartram. ?It is a good thing to put on a resume and it was a fun thing to do. It was a good experience.?