Do chef whites come in camouflage?

By Chris McGregor

MONCTON-Wanted: a few good cooks.

The Canadian Forces is looking for new recruits to keep this country's troops and peacekeepers well fed and fit as they are deployed to bases, ship and submarines, both nationally and overseas.

Ladles and lentils replace guns and ammunition as cooks prepare and serve up three nutritious meals a day to both our domestic troops and international forces on overseas missions.

There are currently 1,100 cooks working in Canada to feed Canadian Forces members as they respond to emergencies and natural disasters, or as they train either as a new recruit or for overseas deployment on peacekeeping duty.

  Major Robert Pitcher, directorate of food services with the Department of National Defence, attended the recent ApEx foodservice trade show in Moncton to spread the word about the need for chefs.

"We're giving people an option to look at a career in the trades. Have you ever thought of a trade in the Canadian Forces as a cook?" Pitcher said.

The Food Services division is undertaking a new strategy of attending foodservice and hospitality shows in order to attract cooks right from the source.

For every one soldier in the Canadian Forces, there are 10 people working behind the scenes in a variety of support roles. This year, 140 cooks are needed across Canada to replace cooking crews as they retire from the Forces.

Pitcher would not reveal how many cooks are currently overseas with United Nations coalitions in Afghanistan, but that is an option for a new graduate of a college culinary program.

Salaries start at $30,000 and are as competitive as any first restaurant job upon graduation. With the job comes with full benefits including medical and dental and a cook can retire after 25 years of service with a full military pension.

Don't think that your chef whites will stay clean however. Like any other Canadian Forces member, cooks must also complete a 13-week Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) course, that includes rifle training, first aid, and operating in a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear environment.  

When the BMQ is completed, cooks move into Camp Borden, Ontario to work through the 18-week training course at the Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics.
There is where cooks get to fire up the stove in a state of the art and fully equipped kitchen learning cooking terms, baking and meat cutting, cooking in the field, small and large quantity food preparation, food safety and proper handling, cost controls, fire and safety precautions and equipment maintenance.

It doesn't end there. The apprentice chef then works through an 18-month on-the-job training program teaching meal preparation and production under the supervision of a senior cook.

Those with the right stuff and desire can take extra courses and training in the foodservice industry including Food and Beverage Manager certification and the
Hospitality Manager's Development course.

Cooks in the field feed troops using an MKT, a military kitchen trailer that is able to feed 150 people from the self-contained unit.

Pitcher said a stint as a military cook is "a different career" with an opportunity to see Canada and the world while being part of a cohesive kitchen team.

It is, however, not an easy life. The shifts are seven hours long with the first starting at 5 a.m. and the second not ending until 7 p.m. Cooks are expected to work 40 hours a week, including holidays and weekends, and the conditions can be less than ideal at times.

Pitcher said cooks are valuable in that they contribute to a soldier's health and morale when they are away from their home and family.

Tuition subsidies are available for students looking to attend culinary school with an eye on the military. While attending class, students also draw a salary.