MILITARY COOKS.

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KUDOS TO THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S CULINARY OLYMPIC TEAM FOR BEING WORLD CHAMPIONS, IN THE MILITARY CATEGORY, AT THE 2000 CULINARY OLYMPICS IN ERFURT, GERMANY:

http://www.quartermaster.army.mil/oqmg/professional_bulletin/1997/summer/culolympics.html

http://www.quartermaster.army.mil/aces/archive/archive/2001/articles/usacat_briefing.PDF

THE U.S. MILITARY HAS GREATLY IMPROVED THE CALIBER(no pun intended) OF ITS CULINARY TRAINING IN RECENT YEARS.
IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO LEARN OF U.S.(or foreign) MILITARY INCLUDING U.S. COAST GUARD, AND MERCHANT MARINE CULINARY TRAINING AND WORKING CONDITIONS.
PLEASE TELL OF YOUR EXPERIENCES: BRANCH OF MILITARY, UNIT, SCHOOLS ATTENDED, WORKING CONDITIONS(e.g. EMBASSY-, GALLEY-, FIELD-, BASE-KITCHEN?), LENGTH OF ENLISTMENT FOR COOKS, TYPE, AND LENGTH OF CULINARY TRAINING, OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPECIALIZED TRAINING?
WERE YOU DEPLOYED TO A COMBAT ZONE? HOW LIKELY ARE MILITARY COOKS TO BE INVOLVED IN A FIREFIGHT? WERE YOU IN A FIREFIGHT? (You may omit classified details.)
HOW WOULD YOU CONTRAST THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MILITARY(OR PARA-MILITARY, e.g. USCG & Merchant Marine) COOKING vis-a-vis CIVILIAN COOKING IN TERMS OF TRAINING(e.g. military vis-a-vis civilian culinary schools) OR WORKING CONDITIONS(e.g. cooking with a field-kitchen)?
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE MILITARY ALTERNATIVE TO A YOUNG ASPIRING COOK? DID YOU ENJOY COOKING IN THE MILITARY OR DID YOU ORIGINALLY CHOOSE ANOTHER MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY(MOS)? WOULD YOU RE-ENLIST?

PRAY FOR PEACE.

POW/MIA--YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN.

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 08:27 am: Edit

The Armed Forces Culinary programs are probably the best alternative to a young man/woman who cannot afford J & W, LCB or CIA, it is basically the best education you can get without dishing out the $$$$...plus you might make a career of it. The Army has an excellent club system, you cannot get the bennies or the pension you get from the military, outside as a civilian!!!
If you go in at 18 put in your 20 years, you get the pension, and you come out at the prime of your life as far as marketablity for jobs!!!!

By George (George) on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 09:02 am: Edit

All of the branches of the service have great club systems.

I think the biggest problem with going that route would be that recruiters will tell you anything to get you to sign-

"Sure, we'll put you in our culinary program, sign here"

4 months later your sitting in a forklift, unloadind mre's from a container in Iraq. 8<(

G

By Lisareid (Lisareid) on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 01:17 pm: Edit

I'm not sure that I can agree that all branches of the service have "great club systems". I started my culinary training when I learned that my husband would be stationed in Germany, and thought that maybe I'd be able to work in an "O" club; I later found that the Army's club system really didn't exist as it once had...the closest military "club" was on an Air Force base about 2 hours away, and I visited there for a Thanksgiving buffet but was not particularily impressed.

As far as what recruiters say vs. what the soldier ends up doing, it is all part of the job of getting the end result accomplished. My husband, an Army Physician Assistant, was very frustrated at the amount of time that his medics were tasked to do vehicle maintenance rather than in the clinic to do sick call. That kind of thing was also an issue of how leadership viewed different tasks getting done.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 01:28 am: Edit

I talked about this with a Captain at the 40th Division Headquarters, here in Cal. and with a Chief Warrent Officer and First Sargent out of Little Rock, they told me that the Service has been giving outside contracts to cover food at bases, a lot more over the years.
It makes sence to me, it could cost a little more but I think the quality of the food would inprove. As far as people getting pulled from one thing to do another, well thats the deal.
And as far as not getting the job you signed up for, that too has been changing over the years.
It's much better these days.
It's still one of the best deals for young people these days.

By Hamlet (Hamlet) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 11:49 am: Edit

Dear Chef Chums .....Hmmm....I read the above article by chef spike .Yes the armed forces here are going to civilian contractors in england too and i suggest it will not be too long before germany is taken over by contractors too . Over the years i have worked for civvy contractors on the whole they are pretty crappy-well to quash the next question which will be asked by chefspike -well if its so crappy why are you doing it...I am here because i like gemany, i am learning another language , and my unit the officers mess is way cushy and the cash aint too bad either.
Civilian contractors generally pay the lowest wages , they also have many ex servicemen who cannot handle life on civvy street and cannot handle the fact that there atre chefs out there whom are better than they are , how do i know this i have met them ,and are working with some of them now .
However negative i am sounding I wish that i had gone into the services as a chef ,the side benefits are superb and you comeout with a good gratuity and enough experience to land you a job
doing almost anything , but don't kid yourself if you think you will come out as the next escoffier the services training aint that good .
however it is better than the current governmental schemes .

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 01:47 pm: Edit

Read your stuff, sounds like there might be a need or intrest for advancing Military cooks, Chef's once they are out of the Military, in the Culinary field.
That in itself would be a contract, NO?.
They have the basic's, yes?.
what do ya think, Englishman.
Do you know where Burmondsey in London is?

By Lisareid (Lisareid) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 03:12 pm: Edit

I think that J&W does give some credit within their program for former servicemembers with cooking MOSs, though I'm not positive. Since I didn't have the opportunity while in Germany to re-class as a cook in the Reserves, I recently completed the Food Service Specialist correspondence course (SGT level) and found that it did cover the basics that I had in both baking and cooking, as well as the gist of what I had this summer in Garde Manger.

I agree w/ Hamlet that foodservice operated by contractors is inferior to what is put out by soldiers for soldiers, as I had the chance to eat in both types of DFACs at Ft. Lee, the home of the Quartermaster school and culinary training in the Army. I hate the thought that food is being outsourced because it is the enlisted soldiers who ultimately suffer any negative consequence, but I know that it is, like many other things in the military.

Hamlet, enjoy Germany, make the best of your professional surroundings, and drink a dunkelweissen for me! Yours is not a terrible lot-

Lisa, the soon-to-be RD

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 11:50 am: Edit

let me explain better.
if you set up a program that would teach these Military cooks the finer things of the Culinary Arts, BEFORE they got out, that maybe there would be a chance to get a contract with either the Gov. or with one of the private contractors.
OR.
A program to teach Military cooks while they are still in, so they could "inhance" the food they are working with.
Just a thought.

By Cheftim (Cheftim) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 12:12 pm: Edit

The Navy has the Adopt a Ship Program. Chef go aboard ship and support the Fleet with professional culinary training.

The program is coordinated by
Michael Harants, CEC, CCE
Corporate Chef, US Navy, Navy Family Support
Adopt a Ship Coordinator
michael.harants@navy.mil

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 01:13 pm: Edit

I met Michael at the ACF Convention in Orlando, pretty nice guy!