Kitchen Tips & Tools
Army culinary specialists give in-depth look at how they feed 800 soldiers in the field
"Actually preparing it and seeing how you got all this put into one dish, it comes out so well. It tastes so good. It puts a lot of pride in your heart."
Shellie Anne Javier-Follero
10.04.22

Have you ever considered what goes into making a meal for an army?

What do they eat? How do they cook in the field? Who makes it?

A lot goes into it.

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If you are curious about military meals or how they eat during training or tough assignments, you’ll love the below video.

According to Business Insider, three to four thousand members of the Army and National Guard graduate every year from an 8-week culinary course.

Yes, eight weeks of training on how to cook delicious food properly, including baking and even the right way to cut vegetables.

That’s just the start.

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After the intensive trainings in food safety and techniques, trainees prepare meals for their fellow soldiers. They need to cook and prepare three meals a day.

Why food is essential for military

In a paper published by the National Library of Medicine, it says that nutrition and the military are fundamentally entwined.

Without a regular supply of food and water, no army can hope or expect to successfully prevail in its principal role: warfighting.

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Appropriate food in terms of both quality and quantity, and adequate hydration, are required to ensure that physical capacity and mental performance of military personnel remain at optimal levels.

With all this information, the Army and National Guard team needs to act on it by training some of the soldiers to prepare food for other soldiers.

No cooking experience necessary

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Most of the students don’t need to have experience in culinary. The only requirement is the willingness to learn and spend their eight weeks cooking.

But of course, the one basic skill that is required is knowing how to read cookbooks and follow recipes.

Their kitchen is intense

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There are five sections of training.

First is the food safety and sanitation. Second, hands-on training in the techniques of cookery.

Third is training to bake cookies, pies, and other pastries. Fourth, is to go to garrison dining hall and cook there.

And final training is to go outdoors for a week of cooking in the Army’s mobile kitchens.

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Trainees prepare three meals a day for their fellow soldiers in an actual garrison kitchen.

Training culminates outdoors, where trainees cook for hundreds of soldiers in the same mobile kitchens they could be cooking in if deployed.

It looks small at first but once set up is finished, this is a fully functional kitchen.

Students love what they are doing

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Aside from learning the basics of cooking and baking, some students learn to work as a team and go on to become Army Culinary Specialists.

It is teamwork.

They said that they love what they are doing in serving one another inside the kitchen.

They love to lift something for their colleagues or assist someone to cut the vegetables.

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The rule of baking

According to the instructor in baking, “some of the students don’t even know how to turn on the oven”. But that’s okay.

They teach these students the basics and the students love preparing delicious baked goodies for their fellow soldiers as a home-away-from-home treat.

Food is a morale-builder. According to the head of the department, food is fuel for those personnel who are on the front lines.

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And take it from the instructor, Correy Fox. He said that when he thinks about food, it’s “morale”.

Mission accomplisher

When they come out of the field, they have a good, hot meal, and it makes them happy and gives them more energy, and they’re able to accomplish their mission.

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Learn more about the fascinating world of Army cooks in the video below!

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