1st CAV Soldiers sharpen Culinary Skills at Fort Hood

FORT HOOD, Texas — Culinary specialists from across Fort Hood put their skills to the test during an advanced culinary course designed to take Soldiers beyond the fundamentals of food service and prepare them for greater responsibilities throughout their Army careers.

The two-week course, conducted through the Tactical Field Readiness Training Center’s centralized hub, provides 92G culinary specialists with hands-on instruction in advanced cooking techniques, food presentation, field feeding operations, equipment maintenance and food service management.

Master Sgt. Marpue Thomas, assigned to the 11th Signal Brigade and serving as the director and senior instructor for the program, said the training is designed to bridge knowledge gaps that can develop as culinary specialists advance through the ranks.

“We go more into detail in the fine art of cooking and plating,” Thomas said. “We don’t just teach 10-level; we teach all the way up to my level.”

Thomas said culinary specialists often balance demanding operational requirements with professional development. The course gives Soldiers an opportunity to return to the fundamentals while gaining a broader understanding of the planning, logistics and leadership required to operate Army food service programs.

“We still have to find time to make our 92Gs smarter because we’re multifaceted,” Thomas said. “Everything begins and ends with food. We fuel the force.”

The program also introduces Soldiers to areas such as executive dining, the Enlisted Aide Program, menu development, table setting, contracting and customer service.

Thomas said the goal is to show Soldiers that being a culinary specialist extends well beyond preparing meals.

That message resonated with Spc. Kamana Gurugai, a culinary specialist assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Artillery, who has served in the Army for approximately one year.

Gurugai said she learned about the course after participating in a cake competition despite having never made a cake before. With assistance from other culinary specialists, she completed the challenge and was encouraged to enroll in the advanced course.

“I was like, ‘Let me just try it. You know, there’s nothing to lose,’” Gurugai said.

The experience gave her a different perspective on both her profession and the importance of teamwork.

“This course is different,” Gurugai said. “Everybody’s doing it together. The instructors are patient with us. They tell us, ‘Hey, do this step by step,’ rather than just giving us a paper and saying, ‘Watch it and learn it.’”

Gurugai said she plans to take the techniques she learned back to her organization and share them with other Soldiers.

“What I know, you might not know, and what you know, I might not know,” she said. “Whatever we share to each other is what we will learn.”

Thomas said developing that mindset is one of the program’s primary goals. Soldiers who complete the training return to their formations with skills they can use to improve readiness and develop others.

For Thomas, watching Soldiers execute what they learned during the program’s 13th iteration demonstrated what the course can accomplish.

“Seeing the finished product, it’s amazing,” Thomas said. “They can do anything they set their mind to.”

For Gurugai, the course also opened the door to a bigger possibility: one day becoming an instructor herself.

“If I were to show more people my technique, then it would be able to help them out,” Gurugai said. “Maybe in the future, I could start my own course too.”

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.