cookIng In unusual places

British Army Chef... not your average chef!

Trained as a combat-ready soldier frst and chef second, the public support for the British Army Chef has never been so strong!

Ask any professional Chef what they think of when you say British Army Chef and they might reply ‘mass catering with lack of creativity or variety’ or they might quote actor Steven Seagal “I’m just a cook” from the flm Under Siege. Most battle hardened soldiers will agree that what they look forward to most after returning from a patrol is Facebook and food (scof) depending on whether their location has a military chef and WIFI! With over 200 roles on ofer in the British Army, if you are looking for a job that provides variety, challenge and an incredible sense of pride, look no further than the British Army Chef. The chef trade is part of the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) The British Army Chef is one of the most respected and valued trades in the British Army. The role of the British Army Chef is to provide subsistence at any time, environment or location worldwide. The equipment can range from state of the art kitchen’s to a very large tent cooking on a field kitchen, or as we refer to as OFCS (Operational Field Catering System) A modular field kitchen system that is adaptable for a variety of roles and requirements. Typically one OFCS is designed for providing catering for 40 people. The London Olympics provided an excellent example how adaptable the equipment can be to use, catering from 40 to 4,000 plus at each meal. Read any personal account of battle felds and the supply of fresh and nutritional food will often be one of the contributory factors supporting the will to fght on. Napoleon is often quoted as saying that “An army marches on its stomach.” Getting high quality food to troops in difcult conditions is a key part of an army’s success. As one ofcer confded about rations in WW2 ‘corned beef was so despised by WW2 troops that on training exercises, they threw them over the clif, preferring hunger!’

Rations or Operational Rations available to the troops have signifcantly improved mainly due to constructive feedback from the soldiers on the ground who have sampled many of them. In Afghanistan, the variety of rations available to British troops were incredible. As a military Chef, depending on the logistic supply chain, where possible you always use fresh rations, if fresh is not available or in short supply you would use, frozen, and fnally operational ration packs. As a chef in the feld, you are not just providing fuel for the troops to do their job, you are also a culinary alchemist, often providing a much needed reminder of home comforts in hostile and challenging environments. This is not restricted to an area of confict, it could be anywhere from an arctic military training exercise in Norway to providing catering support in the UK as part of the civil disaster contingency group. Life as a military Chef is far from dull, regardless if you choose to join the British Army full time (regular) or in your spare time (Army Reserves) I can honestly say over 20 years reserve service I have travelled the world, experienced life and cultures as a civilian Chef you would not have the opportunity to experience. As a civilian qualifed Chef, I totally underestimated the value that military training can add to your day job if your choose the Army Reserves. With some “Essex” swagger I had been trained in a 5 star hotel, cooked for royalty and had experienced most catering environments. I joined the Reserves because I wanted to do something different and exciting, as a qualified Chef I didn’t think the Army could really add to my skill set. How short sighted I was! The British Army takes you out of your comfort zone; remove your clean and static kitchen, forget the walk in fridge, blast chiller, chargrill, combi oven and thermo mix. Imagine you are lone military Chef in some remote part of the world, your kitchen was on the back of pallet that for some reason was not loaded. You have a four 10 Man ORP boxs (rations) and you know the guys will be returning from a 12 hour patrol, tired and hungry with the expectation of a home cooked meal ready. The following three words are the backbone of any Soldier and Chef...Adapt, Improvise & overcome! You will be trained to cope with any situation, your action plan in place, you have security sorted in your location, you delegate to some willing and hungry helpers (everyone helps the Chef or is at the back of the que!) to collect frewood.

Forward Operating Base Service Point (Afghanistan)

24 hour Operational Ration Pack

You fnd a couple of metal sheets, brick’s and a metal drum. If you can imagine scrap heap challenge for Chefs, this may help to visualise how very quickly you can improvise your kitchen to somehow provide food for the troops. Themed menu’s from Stufed crust pizza to slow roast pulled pork wraps, you can be as creative as you like. What is guaranteed is that the troops will provide almost instant customer feedback, which most of the time is really positive. What they don’t see is you running around like a loon, dealing with trying to regulate the heat of your improvised oven or what you thought was salt in the dark, was actually sugar! Travel is guaranteed as a military Chef, most recently British Army Chefs deployed to Jordan to support Exercise Shamal Storm, testing the ability of the Vanguard Enabling Group to provide logistical support for the British Army’s reaction forces. As a Chef this is where you really earn your pay, feeding in excess of 1,600 international troops per day. As a military Chef you also will also be required to demonstrate your fne dinning skills, which for the only regiment of Chefs in the British Army “167 Catering Support Regiment RLC” 2016

will be active year. Members of the regiment will be competing at SCOTHOT , The Restaurant Show building on the success of Hotelympia including catering for members of the royal family on several occasions. 167 Catering Support Regiment RLC would be best described as global catering agency, providing a niche catering support capability to both regular and reserve units. We are often asked by Chefs what happens if you are already a qualifed Chef? Simple, we build on your experience, and provide you with the skills and confdence to deliver a world class catering capability in any environment. Its not all about cooking! The British Army have a reputation for providing you with the skills and opportunity to “Be A Better You” Within reason you if you want to try any sport, the Army will not only provide the opportunity, you get paid for it too! This could be Skiing, Surfng, Mountain Biking, Triathlon, Sailing, Diving, even Polo! To join, you do not need to hold any formal vocational qualifcations, we will provide all the training you need, coach you to pass all the ftness requirements for as long as it takes and at a pace to suit you, on successfully passing your basic military training, you will be part of a unique group of Chefs that do not just cook!

We are not just chefs, we are British Army chefs – an essential part of keeping the British Army ready for any challange!

SSgt Simon Jefery RLC @britisharmychef Facebook/britisharmychef info@britisharmychef.com