Ristorante Bella Etna Wins NEY Award Three Years in a Row

Naval Air Station Sigonella’ base galley, Ristorante Bella Etna, won the 2020 Captain Edward F. Ney Award for Food Service Excellence in the OCONUS category.

This marks the third year in a row, beginning in 2018, which Bella Etna has been named the winner.

“I am very proud of what our team at Ristorante Bella Etna has been able to consistently accomplish,” said Capt. Kevin Pickard, commanding officer NAS Sigonella. “Not only were they able to compete and earn the Ney award, but to do it three years in a row is a truly unprecedented recognition of the hard work and dedication shown on a daily basis by our exceptional team of Culinary Specialists and Local National food preparation and management professionals at NAS Sigonella.”

The Secretary of the Navy and the International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA) established the “Ney” award program in 1958. The annual award encourages excellence in the Navy food service programs with the objective of improving the quality of life for our Navy personnel. The Ney awardees must earn a five-star rating from a Navy evaluation team to be considered for the award.

Each year Naval Supply Systems Command assigns a Food Service Warrant Officer (CWO5) to inspect galleys across the Navy in each of the competitive categories based on standardized inspection criteria. The inspection results are submitted to NAVSUP at the end of the inspection cycle which normally runs from October to mid December of each competition year.

Following their comprehensive review, NAVSUP submits the results to the Secretary of the Navy and release the results in the following February. This year, NAS Sigonella galley competed against Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Jewel of the East Galley.

“The competition across the Navy for the Ney award is always fierce” said Courtney Silvestre, NAS Sigonella Fleet Readiness Director. “I am extremely proud of the continuous effort which the diverse staff of Bella Etna put in day in and day out to accomplish this feat.”

Ristorante Bella Etna is made up of a team more than 40 host nation civilians, along with a small number of Sailors and Marines, to ensure galley maintains the highest standard.

Considering all of the effort put forth by the galley staff to win this award, it’s their reaction which makes all of the difference.

“It is a great feeling of excitement, joy and gratefulness all at the same time when you hear the news that our galley has won the award,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jonathan Delacruz the food service officer of NAS Sigonella. “This is the third consecutive year that NASSIG Ristorante Bella Etna has won the prestigious Captain Edward F. Ney Award, something that is not a common feat. There have been galleys that have won back-toback awards, but three years in a row is unheard of.”

“So this is part of the joy my staff and I share in hearing this news,” said Delacruz.

NAS Sigonella’s strategic location enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to deploy and respond as required to ensure security and stability in Europe, Africa and Central Command.