Marine Corps Air Station, Calif. -- A Marine leaves the physical training field, tired and sore. He makes his way to his room, changes over and heads to the dining facility. When he walks in, he finds the spacious building dark and empty. There is no array of food, clean dishes or beverages.
This scenario would be a reality if not for the dedication and hard work of what may be one of the Marine Corps’ most valuable assets, the food services specialists.
Few Marines know about the long hours cooks put into preparing meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
These Marines prepare all meals served in the dining facility -- most from scratch. Working from recipe cards and fine tuning by taste, these cooks diligently carry out their job with no expectations of gratitude, explained Pfc. Letty Vazquez, a cook and pastry chef for the dining facility here.
“While everyone is getting off for the holidays or going to the Marine Corps Ball, we are here feeding Marines,” said Vazquez.
The cooks prepare food for events such as mess nights, the Marine Corps Ball and other requested special events, in addition to their daily duties.
“A lot of people don’t know or understand all that we do,” said Sgt. Daniel Allende, the chief cook for the dining facility aboard the air station. “People think that we have bags of food that we cut open and cook, but that’s not the case.”
Before serving food, these Marines must first learn about sanitation procedures and proper food handling, explained Vazquez. An entire battalion can easily become ill because of food poisoning.
This takes place during the first two weeks of a three-month course at Fort Lee, Va., which teaches potential combat cooks about cooking for individuals and groups.
The course concludes with a one-month field exercise where the cooks must perform their job in the field, using all that they learned.
Using the skills learned at their military occupational school and on the job, combat cooks also participate in quarterly competitions. The air station’s top cooks go up against cooks from other Marine Corps installations in the area and compete for the title of Chef of the Quarter.
The competition is a much deserved chance to obtain individual recognition for the countless hours spent in the kitchen cooking for fellow Marines and perfecting their craft.
A cook is in the kitchen preparing food for breakfast and lunch long before the sun rises. After dinner, when many Marines return to their barracks, cooks remain to clean the kitchen and prepare for the next day, all for the morale and nutrition of the tired and hungry Marine.