Cooks ( merged )

[Scott]

My God I am so sorry that I missed this thread and so glad the hijack occurred and so happy to contribute to it further!!

During my QL3 in Aldershot we stayed in tent city and were fed, for the duration of the course, from flying kitchens. One of the older Sgt's, who had been Black Watch many moons prior, was cooking with the NSH and  had been tasked to Aldershot for the summer, he always took care of "his lads" when we came through - Heaping helpings, seconds, thirds, good humour and great, fatherly cheer. Sgt. Snow, wherever you are, I appreciated it then and even moreso now.

I work in the oil and gas industry and I do spend a fair amount of time in camps in remote areas of Alberta and BC. I have had some great meals and some truly horrible ones but I always thanked the cook. I have witnessed what happens to the guys who mouth off, on steak night they get the fattiest toughest piece of boot leather in the joint, if they get fed at all. By always saying thanks I never had trouble raiding the kitchen after hours when I was late, never had an issue nicking some "extras" for my lunch and always had someone to have a coffee with.

Hats off to cooks, a thankless job for which I am grateful!

 

[ren]

My wife told me about this message,she wouldn't let me not answer it so here I am... I am a reg force cook with 1PPCLI in Edmonton (14 years in) and here are your answers
1) There is no such thing as a usual day.
  a) In a real world, you would know what shifts you will have from one day to the next but that isn't so..you are looking at 3 shift schedules and depending where in the kitchen you are working can determine that. Early shift starts at 0 dark stupid, day shift @ 07:30, and late shift starts at 10:00. Early and late shifts are 9 1/2 hours each.  Day shift is 8 1/2 hours. You get meals but not "an hour for lunch" , breaks are dependant on the work load.  Meals USED to be free for cooks but now we have to pay taxes on them, whether we have time to eat them or not (I digress)  :brickwall:
2) You only do PT when it is convenient .
a) Before late shift or after for early and day shift.(running after an early shift, what a great idea!)
3) Field time is dependant on what unit you are with.  3 months out of a year would be an average.  There are always other taskings that come up so if it is time away you want thats no problem. 
4) Once a year you have to go to the ranges and qualify (minimum requirement) Occasionally you will get fire something else.
5) There is 1 civilian cook in Edmonton but there are a lot more on other bases (we killed all ours).  :rofl:
6) I knew of an infantry guy that switched to cook during his training but leaving the trade is extremely difficult.
7) Tours are plentiful for the cook trade. If you want them, you can have them.
8 ) You can be a part of any team you want but time away from your regular duties is dependant on the work load.  Considerations are sometimes made for deserving members.
9) Jump courses are difficult to get but not unattainable. You would have to be one keen mf for that.
10) As for going up in the ranks it seems to be getting a whole lot easier these days.  A lot of guys are retiring and positions open up very quickly.

P.S. The post about no cooks replying to you because they were too busy to be farting around on the computer. There is truth to it.  If you wouldn't take pride in doing a job like this, don't bother, the rewards are too few. 
P.S.S. We train to kill entire units in one meal not one at a time.  :evil:

Ren



Hi there I was wondering if any cooks could tell me how a usual day is? Do you do PT every morning or do you go straight to the kitchen to cook a meal. How much time in the field do cooks get? Do you get any infantry training for example do you ever go the ranges.
What would the percentage to civilian to military cooks be.
As anyone known of any cooks being able to switch trades during training? Also I would like to know is after having some training would you be able to get a tour. How often does a cook get a tour?

Another thing is my questions would be more directed to a Army cook (Combat cook) Can a cook do any special training besides just cook stuff. For example the pistol team or something.

Oh and another question. For a highly fit person how tough would it be to get Para Wings. Is this offered to a cook often?


Is it tough to go up the ranks in the Profession?

Thank you very much

 

[JackD]

Hi! I apologise for not returning my thanks for the recipe... Wahoo!! After 25 years! I live in Poland now - a teacher of English for my sins... Would there be anything I could get you from here - err within a reasonable cost - as my take home salary is 1000 zloties a month or 400 Canadian dollars... This weekend though...A western omelet a'la Forces Canadien! Once again, my thanks - and my thanks for all the cooks i've had dealings with...

 

[mgreer]

Hi Jack,

My pleasure!  Nothing expected in return.  Your kind words of our trade is reward two fold.  Very glad we were able to accommodate you with our old reliable omelet recipe.

Cheers,  Mike

 

[gaspasser]

ref PT, Most squaddies never trust a skinny cook. It usually means they aren't eating their own cooking. Cook is an honourable trade with loads of respect from the troops.  Be happy and the troops are happy. I have a few friends who are cooks and good at it.  Thier only complaint is that they are always supervised.  The Chef side of the house brings out their creativity. 
As a side note, it's very difficult to starve in a military kitchen. 

 

[Devlin]

God Bless the Cooks

I am biased as a member of the CSS world but I have to say some of the best meals I have ever had came from CF kitchens and flying kitchens. The cook for our unit is also the Bde Chief Cook and one hell of a good guy.

My favorites include
C4 Chilli - I have asked for the recipe he won't give it up 
BBQ steak
Roast Beef

Kitchen Trailers are also a great place to hang out between CP shifts, I'd rather sit in the flying kitchen and peel potatoes and be warm than freeze my arse off somewhere else

 

[Shamrock]

Though the original post has been answered, let me continue the hijack.

I'm not here to say "some of the best food I've ever eaten" has come from a CF Kitchen.  I'm here to say, the best food I've ever eaten has come from a CF kitchen.  I was married on base and had the reception at the mess.  The civi's in attendance were lvery concerned about having army-food, and the army guys were lined up and drooling in advance.  The meal was roast beef, and unlike the steamline, the cooks were able to invest time and effort in presentation.  I've had some good meals before, but never anything like that.  Even some of the five-star restaurants I've eaten at paled in comparison.  And flavourful!  Guess I should toss in that the meal itself was obscenely inexpensive.

Just thinking about the food makes me want to marry her again.

My hat's off to cooks, and not just because the mess tells me so.

 

[big bad john]

Though the original post has been answered, let me continue the hijack.

I'm not here to say "some of the best food I've ever eaten" has come from a CF Kitchen.  I'm here to say, the best food I've ever eaten has come from a CF kitchen.  I was married on base and had the reception at the mess.  The civi's in attendance were lvery concerned about having army-food, and the army guys were lined up and drooling in advance.  The meal was roast beef, and unlike the steamline, the cooks were able to invest time and effort in presentation.  I've had some good meals before, but never anything like that.  Even some of the five-star restaurants I've eaten at paled in comparison.  And flavourful!  Guess I should toss in that the meal itself was obscenely inexpensive.

Just thinking about the food makes me want to marry her again.

My hat's off to cooks, and not just because the mess tells me so.

+1 on that.  My wife and I have the opportunity to eat out often because of our work schedule's and lifestyles right now.  We eat at some very posh places.  But the food pales in comparison to what I've had in the Mess.  IMHO service cooks are the best in the world.  They care and it does show.  I enjoy The Keg, but it doesn't compare food quality wise to a good Mess meal when it's put on.

 

[Dissident]

+1 for canadian cooks!

39 Brigade has some amazing cooks. Gold riboon cooks. Some of the food I had on cougar salvo and active edge, I was unprepared for. Just that good.

After +36 hours on on the road/field, it was an unexpedted treat to have hot chocolate and hot soup ready.

Any CSS trade that takes his/her job seriously, suporting another soldier, has my unwaving loyalty.

 

[q_1966]

Im starting my cooks training soon, how many mess dinners would I be doing a year, because im interesed in the more detailed stuff as appose to cooking cafeteria style

 

[mgreer]

Well that's primarily going to be dependant on where you're posted, and then what kitchen you'll be in.  An Officers Mess/Wardroom will have numerous high profile/mess dinner/formal meals each year, whereas a Junior Ranks Mess in an Army unit or aboard a ship will have considerably less.  That being said, there is a very high expectation that all meals, including cafeteria style are prepared and presented with the highest of quality and imagination.  That in itself is much more of a challenge than preparing and providing a mess dinner.  It's also greatly appreciated by the troops and sailors, for which I can attest.  Resulting in the comments you see here and why Canadian Military Cooks have the reputation they do with other nations military's.  Wait until you get the chance to try Norway's fresh field rations or a meal aboard a Chinese Destroyer.  You'll have plenty of opportunity to learn & provide both.  Hope this is helpful.

Cheers,

Mike 

 

[Blackadder1916]

In the course of my military career, I have eaten a lot of meals in mess halls and messes: in the field; on army, air force and navy bases; on service aircraft; even on a HMCS for a short period; plus have had to sample the culinary attempts of some foreign militaries.  So it is with some experience that I can confirm that CF cooks are some of the best in the world.  Their job is not to provide gourmet dining on a par with a five star restaurant, but they often do.  Even when they don't, the meals they provide rarely fall below the "good, wholesome" category.  I have many memories of good, or really good, or great or "hey, cookie if you weren't so ugly I'd ask you to marry me" meals.  I am still hoping that I can get scrambled eggs in a diner that are as light, fluffy and tasty as the ones I got in Cornwallis/Granville (yes) from a haybox, 30 years ago.  I have only one memory of a mess hall meal that was bad enough to require intervention.  CFB Borden on course, 1980, a Sunday evening.  We went across to the mess for supper and found only one choice of main course, "Sweet and Sour Luncheon Meat".  Canned crap on rice.  Well that brought out a lot of grumbling and threats (including of physical voilence) from the mostly medics and MPs towards the MCpl cook in charge at the time. The Duty Officer was called who called the KO.  If the MCpl was nervous about the threats from us, he was positively terrified after the KO was finished with him and not pleased that he had to cook steaks for us.
Who called the cook a c**t?  Who called that c**t a cook?

 

[bogie]

I never knew this site existed!!!! I was a CF Cook in Edmonton and Pet. Hello people!! Been awhile! Bogie!

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Where's the first place you head to, when coming of the line or coming of duty. The good old mess tent. Good food, good hot coffee and plenty of friendly faces. Oh and not to mention the hot pies and other goodies left out for the troops by the baker. Now thats a moral booster!

One thing i learned early on in my career, is to always keep the cooks happy and they'll will always return the favour 10 fold.

 

[tomahawk6]

http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/co...ws&classif=News

FORWARD OPERATING BASE

SPERWAN GHAR, Afghanistan

Of all the countless – and often thankless – jobs under the baking sun at this mountain base in southern Kandahar province, his is probably the hottest.

Depending on who you ask – and how long it’s been since they’ve eaten a fresh meal – it might also be the most important.

Master Cpl. Dave Dore, who’s attached to the Canadian Forces Joint Signals Regiment based in Kingston, has spent part of the last nine years flying across Canada and around the world, cooking first-class meals for dignitaries, two governors general and three prime ministers – including current Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Today, he spends his days in the sweltering, gas-fired heat of a portable Canadian Forces galley, boosting the morale of soldiers in Afghanistan one heaping cardboard mess tray at a time.

“I started as infantry, then after a short stint I seen the light and went to cooking,” said Dore, 34.

During his brief time with Harper, he remembers the PM as a generally quiet fellow, and his predecessor – former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin – as a friendly, healthy eater.

It’s Jean Chretien he remembers best, whom he describes in his best faux-Shawinigan drawl as a “beer-and-chicken-wings” kind of guy – provided he wasn’t travelling with his wife, Aline.

“He said, ‘Dave, when my wife is on the plane, I want healthy food – carrot sticks, celery sticks,’ ” Dore recalled.

“When she’s not on the plane, I want chicken wings and I want beer.”

Of all the important mouths he’s fed over the years, the ones that line up at Sperwan Ghar for chow time – three squares a day, three days a week, lunch and dinner the rest of the time – are easily the most rewarding.

“Absolutely, especially when the boys come back from being on rations for 40 days, and they come back to a fresh, hot meal, they’re just so grateful,” said Dore, originally of Elliot Lake, as he stirred a giant vat of spaghetti noodles – one of two entrees on the night’s menu.

“The food that we have on, it doesn’t matter what it is, they’re just so grateful and you can you see the smiles, and you know that you’ve made a difference, that you’ve boosted that morale just a little bit.”

Dore doesn’t just sling hash, either. It’s hearty – and largely healthy – comfort food, such as the stir-fried beef and rice, boiled vegetables, roast chicken and slabs of meat loaf he’s been serving in recent days.

Most of the soldiers look forward to Thursday, which is steak night – often accompanied by a side of crab legs, lobster tails, or whatever else the supply lines from Dubai can provide.

There’s no complaining from the troops, especially the ones who have just returned from a fierce several weeks shelling enemy positions from a Spartan base in Helmand province, leaving their field rations to warm up in the heat.

“It’s unreal. You eat rations for so long, it almost, like, kills your taste buds,” said Bombardier Michael Hobb, of B Troop from the 2nd Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Petawawa.

Hobb, 20, from Yarmouth, N.S., has spent the last 10 days with his fellow gunners at a no-frills forward operating base in Helmand, manning Canada’s M-777 Howitzer cannons in support of coalition troops trying to flush Taliban fighters from the province’s opium-producing northern tip.

He said soldiers often have to be careful when switching between field rations and fresh food, since making the adjustment can be hard on the system. But he’s grateful to be eating like a human being again.

“To get here and eat a fresh meal – it could have been anything, really, but it was amazing,” he said.

“They’re really good cooks here – and all the food that we get is unreal. Some of the guys who were here before said they were getting steak and lobster. They take really good care of us here.”

 

[geo]

Huah.... nut'in but the best for our boys in the field.
Beer & chicken wings be damned!

Thanks for those great cooks in their field kitchens!

CHIMO!

(used to have one cook working for me.... the only thing I had to ensure the officer factored in to his staffing plan was a day off for the cook on payday.  The cook would be out to lunch and bent out of shape for 24 hrs..... not much of a price when you conside there's another good 14 days of good cooking in-between)

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Ah yes, we had some awesome cooks back in the day in 2 RCHA.
The battle cry one year while in bivouc in Norway was to look at the Americans hard-rationing it next to us even whilst camped and us yelling  "WHAT?,..steak, AGAIN?"

 

[HansonSherren]

Hi there - I have a quick question.  Long story short, I'm flip flopping between either joining as a cook (I'm a chef already) or a steward (N).  My papers are in already and I did my medical and interview today and currently I'm signed up as steward but can switch to cook (but I have to let them know in the next few days) .. basically my husband and I are outweighing the pros and cons - the only cons to joining as a steward is being away from my family for so long.  Am I correct to assume that if I go as a cook (Army), that I'm only sent away for 6 months during my 3 yr contract?  If yes... then my next question is, where could I be stationed?    When I did a search this is what came up: 

    * CFB Edmonton, Alberta
    * CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick
    * CFB Kingston, Ontario
    * CFB Montreal, Quebec
    * CFB Petawawa, Ontario
    * CFB Shilo, Manitoba
    * CFB Suffield, Alberta
    * CFB Valcartier, Quebec
    * CFB Wainwright, Alberta
    * Connaught National Army Cadet Training Centre (CRPTC Connaught), Ontario
    * LFCATC Meaford, Ontario
    * LFAATC Aldershot, Nova Scotia

Is it safe to assume I would be posted to one of these 12 places?

I did a search and couldn't find the information I was looking for so I hope you don't mind my question.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!!

 

[PMedMoe]

As a cook you can be posted anywhere in the military.  It's a "purple" trade so it doesn't matter what color your DEU is.

As far as your remark about only being sent away for 6 months during your 3 year contract, I have no idea what you are getting at.  You can be sent on tour (be it Afghanistan, Alert or elsewhere), you may be sent on courses (trades training, etc) and there's always taskings, field exercises.....

 

[dirtnco]

I beg to differ with Pmedmoe, but you or any other military cook will never be posted to Meaford unless you luck out (hehehehe) and arrive for your SQ. The reason being is the Civvi Hunta that thinks it runs this place will not allow a real maker of the meals to practice his/her chosen trade. For whatever reason the inhabitants if the Puzzle palace on the Rideau seem to think that the organization that is currently in place is doing a good job. Those that have graced their tables know better. :skull:
Moe good to see you are still kickin, say hi to Fred.

Stew