The veteran community is full of ultra-marathoners and others who push the limits of endurance.
Former Army Spc. Susie Fortman might be the first ultra-cook.
Fortman, 28, spent the first weekend in November preparing food for 48 hours straight at a restaurant/bar in Slinger, Wisconsin, about 40 miles northwest of Milwaukee. The feat, once certified, will beat the existing Guinness World Record, and thanks to support from the restaurant and the local community, it came with a bonus – $1,000 for the Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative.
The idea, she said, hit her while she was attending an event on behalf of the charity. When she found out what the record would entail, it seemed within reach in light of her old job.
"Working in the kitchen in the military, you're pulling, easily, 18-hour shifts," she said. "And that's just an average, everyday thing. For our Thanksgiving meals, it's well over 24 hours put into it."
Fortman, who deployed to Iraq with a brigade support battalion attached to 1st Infantry Division in 2009-10, returned to her Wisconsin home after service to take culinary classes using her GI Bill benefits. When she’s not in school, she’s cooking at Sheryl’s Club 175– open 365 days a year, with frequent specials (first drink's free for veterans on Veterans Day, for instance).
"The majority of everything is from scratch," she said. "We do really rustic, at-home, blue-plate special kind of food."
The kitchen's not open 24 hours, so when diners weren't around, Fortman cooked hundreds of meals for local homeless people. Support from friends and family, and a crowd of local media, packed the eatery, helping boost the donation amount … while adding to the cook's workload.
"With this influx of business, she was cooking her heart out," general manager Ashley Shafer said. "I mean, nonstop. Especially Saturday, I know she got slammed."
By Sunday the strain was starting to show, despite 20-minute breaks allowed every four hours.
"I was continuously moving," Fortman said. "And then my body finally hit a wall at 3 a.m. on Sunday, and I almost didn't make it. I had to sit down … I was starting to see faces in the food I was cooking, at one point."
She made it through – Shafer said Fortman entered "Beast Mode" during the event – and bested the listed record for a cooking marathon by eight hours. The local public television station filmed the entire enterprise, Shafer said – part of the Guinness requirements, but also good practice for Fortman, who said she hopes to become a culinary entrepreneur along the lines of Rachel Ray and other TV chefs.
Before any future riches, there's the cash raised in the present -- $1,000 for the vets group, thanks to purchases off a special menu during the marathon and matching donations from the restaurant.
"Plus we passed around a donation bucket during the Packers game," Shafer said.
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
