Gourmet chow
April 17th, 2012 | Amphibious operations Chow Cooking Gator Navy Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story | Posted by Charles Hoskinson
Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Anthony Catabay prepares a dish Monday for Sea-Air-Space symposium attendees. (Staff photo by Charles Hoskinson)
There was no mistaking the scent of fine food that drew a crowd Monday to the Naval Supply Systems Command booth at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space symposium outside Washington, D.C.
Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Anthony Catabay was putting the finishing touches on something that wasn’t the usual Navy fare: chicken saltimbocca with morel asparagus and herb linguine in marsala sauce. It was the same dish that won him a silver medal last month in the annual Military Culinary Arts Competition at Fort Lee, Va.
Catabay — who normally works in the galley at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va. — made his own pasta from scratch, something Navy cooks are doing more of, not just to improve the food sailors eat but also to hone their cooking talents, said Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Katherine Thompson.
“The junior sailors are excited because now they get to own their skills,” she said.
After Catabay finished cooking, spectators were invited to sample his dish. The verdict? Delicious.
A public apology for barfing on the COD
January 30th, 2012 | Aviation Carrier On-Board Delivery plane Carriers Chow COMPTUEX Enterprise Life at Sea Naval aviation Navy | Posted by Joshua Stewart
Dear VRC-40 “The Rawhides,”
I’m just writing to apologize for getting airsick in your C-2A Greyhound. It was certainly unintentional. You handled the plane with steady hands as we flew from Naval Air Station Mayport, Fla., to the carrier Enterprise last week. We even had weather on our side, allowing for a particularly calm flight.
If only my stomach was able to manage my breakfast as well as you flew the COD.
Usually I handle flights pretty well, but the combination of the smell of aviation fuel, the lack of windows, the heat and the sheer grittiness of the Navy’s draft horse airplane was more than I could manage. I didn’t even make it halfway through our quick flight. By the time we were headed into our approach, I wasn’t as excited about going from 100 to zero mph in less than two seconds as much as I was excited about just getting out of that torture chamber.
This C-2A Greyhound lands on the carrier Enterprise with a reporter who is very sorry he got airsick. // Navy
Please don’t think anything less of me for this; better-known reporters have handled it just as poorly (one former SWO who took a COD with a certain cable news star told me “Wolf ralphed” during a flight to the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower). And please don’t forget that I cleaned up after myself. I just wish I had had an airsick bag
While I’m feeling contrite, I should also apologize to the cooks who made breakfast before our flight back at Mayport … that was your banana muffin with green apple syrup that ended up in the seat next to me. This was not a commentary on your culinary skills; it was certainly delicious on the way down.
And to everyone else on the carrier who heard about my illness, from the chief medical officer who gave me a motion sickness patch (if you’re curious, they certainly work and I’m available for paid endorsements) to the three people who provided me with stacks of airsick bags for my return flight (I thankfully didn’t need to use them for their intended purposes, but I’ll hold onto them to carry lunches through the year), I appreciate all of your help.
Once again, I apologize for my faux pas and I hope I can one day fly with you again.
Sincerely,
Josh Stewart
Navy cooks vie to be region’s `Top Chef’
January 24th, 2012 | Chow Competition Cooking Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story Navy Navy Region Mid-Atlantic | Posted by Bill McMichael
At least seven teams of Navy culinary specialists from Mid-Atlantic Region are sharpening their knives for Wednesday’s big 2012 “Top Chef” galley cook-off at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story.
(Blog entry aside: Isn’t that the most ungainly possible name for a military base? Sure hard to fit on the front of an HQ, much less say.)
The competition, which is not affiliated with the Bravo TV show, has a great angle going. Each team, consisting of two military chefs ranging in rank from E-1 to E-6, will have a variety of ingredients to choose from — the same stuff for each team. Then, before they begin, each team will be given a secret ingredient — which, we presume, will be something a bit more exotic than garlic salt yet at the same time, compatible with the base ingredients.
Armed with this intel, each team will have 30 minutes to figure out what it will create and get the judges’ approval for their menu. They’ll have to make two main dishes, and use every ingredient available — in two hours. No crock pots, please.
The judges will verify that the cooks have correctly prepared the meals. Then, the cooks will spoon it out, giving judges two plates from each dish to be judged on presentation and taste, respectively.
This will be the 4th annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Galley Culinary Competition, according to Spence Layne, assistant public affairs officer for the [ungainly-named] base. Winners get trophies and bragging rights.
If you were a judge, what secret ingredients would you impose upon the teams?
Navy to the rescue
November 9th, 2010 | Carriers Chow Navy | Posted by Jenn Rafael
Sailors from Fleet Logistics Squadron 30 load boxes of croissants into a C-2A Greyhound at Naval Base Coronado, Calif. // Gregory Bull, Associated Press
When you hear about a Navy relief effort, you usually don’t think about the needy deprived of all-you-can-eat midnight buffets with chocolate fondue fountains.
But staff writer Gidget Fuentes has a story about the carrier Ronald Reagan’s mission: supplying a stranded cruise ship packed with 4,500 vacationers and crew members with more 70,000 pounds of food.
The 113,300-ton Carnival Splendor is just two years old. // Andy Newman, Carnival Cruise Lines
These sun-loving, buffet-grazing guests had booked a seven-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera, with stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.
Now they’re stuck off northern Baja California, awaiting delivery of frozen pastries and canned meat products.
The tons of food were being flown out to Reagan, where helicopters were expected to carry pallets to Splendor. The thousands of hungry cruisers will need the supplies for their trip back to land; tugboats will tow the ship to Ensenada, about 90 minutes south of Tijuana. It’s not quite fun in the sun in Cabo San Lucas.
Carnival promises full refunds — plus free future cruises — to all of Splendor’s passengers.
That's a lot of Spam. // Gregory Bull, Associated Press
Auto dog
September 20th, 2010 | Carriers Chow Life at Sea Morale Photos Ships | Posted by Sheila
Navy Times writer Phil Ewing and I learned a nickname for a popular machine on board the carrier Enterprise recently — the “Auto Dog,” aka the soft-serve ice cream machine. The term has been in the fleet for years, but it was new to me, and it took me almost a full 24 hours to realize exactly why the machine got this nickname. Ewing got it right away, and enjoyed a swirly dish of apple pie “dog.”
Toddler-flage
June 18th, 2010 | Chow Life at Sea Morale Navy Photos | Posted by Susan Schept
A child looks at his father, CS2 Rowin Lameque, during a Father's Day celebration lunch June 18 aboard the amphibious command ship Blue Ridge. // MC1 Josh Huebner/Navy
Who knew the Navy Working Uniform came in this size? The Blue Ridge’s service staff invited sailors and their families to the enlisted galley for a Father’s Day luncheon. They served up a photo of the day.
The chow’s already great, and it’s about to improve
April 21st, 2010 | Chow Life at Sea Military Sealift Command Morale | Posted by Phil Ewing
The dry cargo and ammunition ship Sacagawea was one of three MSC ships to win a prize -- and a visit from an "executive chief" -- for its food service. // MC1 Hendrick Dickson / Navy
The civil-service mariners of Military Sealift Command handle millions of pounds of food every year resupplying Navy warships at sea, so they know about chow. But three ships in particular stand out in terms of excellent food service, according to an announcement this week.
The dry cargo and ammunition ship Sacagawea, the oiler Guadalupe and the oceangoing tug Catawba all have received this year’s David M. Cook Food Service Excellence Awards, the Navy said. Not only do the prizes reflect chow that’s already good, they almost guarantee it’ll get better:
“Contributing food service personnel aboard each winning ship will receive a performance award and a one-week shipboard culinary training session provided by a certified executive chef to further recognize each of the winning food service organizations for their contributions in providing quality meals and service.”
Imagine that: You just zipped 500 pallets of cargo over to an aircraft carrier, you take the elevator (that’s right) up to the mess and there’s Giada De Laurentiis back in the galley, ladling out bisque. Yeah, these civmars really know how to live.
A day aboard Truman — the Skipper
March 30th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers Chow leadership Life at Sea Maritime operations Navy Officers | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
0600
Reveille, reveille! All hands heave out and trice up. Reveille!
Truman’s 65-ton rudders are cutting through some choppier waters. It makes for a gentle rocking motion that invites one to remain in the rack. But Scoop Deck has claimed one of the 18,150 meals that will be prepared aboard Truman today, and we plan to enjoy it on the enlisted mess decks. There’s no way we’re going to miss that.
Capt. Joe Clarkson has been at Truman’s helm since February 2009. He has has more than 3,000 hours in the A-7E Corsair, the Hornet and the Super Hornet. (Photo by Lance M. Bacon)
0730
Imagine being an NFL coach who has a team at the top of its game. It clinches a playoff spot early, only to be told to pause for six months. Then, when play resumes, the team has lost 25 percent of its All-Pro starters.
Capt. Joe Clarkson, Truman’s skipper, knows all too well how that feels.
ISAF: Enough of all this nice stuff
March 26th, 2010 | Chow individual augmentees leadership Morale The Middle East | Posted by Phil Ewing
Only God knows why: Rock-men such as American badass Kid Rock, here performing in Kabul, won't be seen as often in today's Afghanistan, where commanders are cutting back on USO performances. // Staff Sgt. Luis Valdespino Jr / Marine Corps
If you’re headed for Afghanistan, or you’re already there, get ready to say goodbye to Orange Julius. The Jules, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen and other Morale, Welfare and Recreation spots across the ‘Stan are going away, so U.S. and international forces there can focus on fightin’.
That was the word this week from ISAF Command Sgt Maj. Michael T. Hall, who put up a blog post saying there’re going to be some changes around Afghanistan: “This is a war zone — not an amusement park,” he wrote, with shades of George C. Scott’s initial headquarters tour in “Patton.” So the fun food is going away, there’ll be fewer USO appearances, and ISAF will focus only on “essentials.”
If it hasn’t died already, this probably means the end of the famous boardwalk at Kandahar Air Field. (Shame: Great, surreal memories of that place.) No word on whether this affects the Canadian Forces’ beloved Tim Hortons, although, let’s be honest, if they took Timmies away, Canada would pull out of NATO.
It’s also not clear how much the new austerity measures will affect to the already-austere provincial reconstruction teams where most sailors serve, but it’s a cinch that Seabees in places like Kabul and Kandahar will see their smoothie consumption drop off to nothing. If you’re over there — or you’re back from there — what do you think about the new No-Funistan?
The gator that makes you want to lose weight
March 24th, 2010 | Chow Life at Sea The greenside The Pacific | Posted by Phil Ewing
Marines from the 31st MEU exercised in their inimitable fashion aboard the dock landing ship Harpers Ferry, which announced its "Biggest Losers" this week. // GSMC Joel Monsalud / Navy
Few things create a culture of fitness better than fabulous prizes. Case study: The dock landing ship Harpers Ferry, where the winners of its “Biggest Loser” competition were announced this week and awarded — get this — round-trip tickets to Hawaii and five-star hotel accommodations when they got there.
Scheduled to enjoy those plum prizes were Marine Pfc. Travis Martin of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, who lost 24 pounds; and CS3 David Rivera, who lost 19 pounds. Rivera’s inspiration came from an unlikely source — no snickering, please:
“I was 201 pounds, a little bit over weight, and my chief suggested that I participate in the contest, and that was what pushed me to join the competition,” said Rivera. “I stayed on a diet of fruits, vegetables, protein once a day and with very little starches, and I kept my chief’s advice to go on a 70 percent diet and 30 percent exercise as my concept.”
As for Martin, he ran more and started drinking water instead of carbonated soft drinks.
Taken together, Harpers Ferry’s sailors and Marines lost a total of 229 pounds and 108 percent body fat. Now the trick will be keeping all that off once the ship gets back home — or within range of beer.