Fort Bragg cooks tested in Iron Chef competition

**Pete** · 10-23-2014, 04:32

Fort Bragg cooks tested in Iron Chef competition

http://www.fayobserver.com/news/loca...d604b6c4b.html

"Sgt. Frank Arroliga slowly stirred a light brown liquid while his teammates from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division frantically worked behind him to crush peppermint candies and chop broccoli.

Arroliga planned to mix his concoction with cream cheese to make a dessert...."

This was the 2nd annual competition.

No cooks from SOF?

"...The cooks had access to ingredients in the kitchen, but they had to incorporate the eight mystery ingredients. Those ingredients were puff pastry, pinto beans, broccoli, peppermint candies, corn meal, iced tea powder, grapes and pollock fish...."

**Peregrino** · 10-23-2014, 07:39

You haven't eaten in the mess hall lately. Put it this way - I've been eating Nutrisystem for lunch since January by preference. Nuff said.

**Team Sergeant** · 10-23-2014, 10:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete

Fort Bragg cooks tested in Iron Chef competition

http://www.fayobserver.com/news/loca...d604b6c4b.html

"Sgt. Frank Arroliga slowly stirred a light brown liquid while his teammates from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division frantically worked behind him to crush peppermint candies and chop broccoli.

Arroliga planned to mix his concoction with cream cheese to make a dessert...."

This was the 2nd annual competition.

No cooks from SOF?

"...The cooks had access to ingredients in the kitchen, but they had to incorporate the eight mystery ingredients. Those ingredients were puff pastry, pinto beans, broccoli, peppermint candies, corn meal, iced tea powder, grapes and pollock fish...."

SF doesn't have cooks.......... All I saw cooking in Afghanistan were AF Support Troops, assigned to SOF. And even those were not "cooks". All they "tried" to do was make food safe to eat. If I told you what I witnessed in 5-6 SOF "kitchens" I'd be called on to testify before congress..........

**Pete** · 10-23-2014, 11:12

5th and 7th Group had some good Mess Sergeants in the late 70's to late 80's.

But it was a hot cold kinda' deal, you would go a few years with a string of bad ones, get a good one who flipped the Mess Hall upside down and threw out great service and chow for a year or so before some high muckety muck stole him away. Then it all went down hill for another cycle.

T-Rats kinda' put the end to any fancy chow away from home.

Streck-Fu · 10-23-2014, 11:25

During my deployment on the USS Eisenhower in '98, we had a cook that went through the culinary college and some big North Eastern school (Syracuse maybe). They put him in the bakery .... Holy hell was that the best decision ever.
Every morning, the forward half of ship smelled like fresh bread baking.
Soft rolls, sandwich bread, and occasional pretzels and such....
The line started forming a good hour or two before chow opened.

They kept him there there the whole deployment and it was the best food I ever had on a ship.

The Flag Mess always had a young blonde female cook that cruise. Must have been a good chef as well.