Photo By Staff Sgt. Terence Brady | Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 pose for a photo during the 2015 Armed...... read more read more
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CHICAGO - The National Restaurant Association hosted the 2015 Armed Forces Food service Awards Dinner, May 15, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel in Chicago.
The event honored service members from all branches of the Department of Defense for excellence in food services and preparation in the military.
“Tonight is truly a celebration of excellence,” said Dawn Sweeney, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. “It is our restaurant industry’s opportunity to express our gratitude to the U.S. military for ensuring that our country remains free and remains a place where anyone can succeed no matter what our background.
“The military food service awards is a program that rewards military food service professionals for your exceptional work and offers additional training to help you in your current role in your food service careers.”
Lieutenant Gen. William M. Faulkner, the Deputy Commandant, Installations and Logistics, spoke on behalf of the service members receiving awards during the ceremony.
“Just like all of the attributes that are required to execute our Secretary of Defense’s future security strategy, we must have to capabilities to be more flexible, more agile, be ready to deploy wherever and whenever its required,” Faulkner said. “These same kinds of attributes apply to our food services.”
Food services Marines were recognized for Best Military/Contractor Garrison Mess Hall, Best Full Foodservice Contracted Garrison Mess Hall, Best Active Field Mess and Best Reserve Mess as part of the W.P.T. Hill Awards Program.
“It culminates various inspections between the food team and inspectors to see how our daily operations are ran between our financials, food prep, sanitation, and customer service,” said Gunnery Sgt. Prince A. Hamilton, the Mess Hall Officer at Camp Mujuk, Republic of Korea, and award recipient at the ceremony. “On a daily basis, there’s a standard business practice. You need to give [the team] direction where you need them to go, inspect what you expect, and tell them if they’re doing a good job or a bad job.”
The W.P.T. Hill Awards Program serves the Marine Corps’ food service program to promote food service excellence and improving quality of living for the Fleet Marine Force through competition.
“We look for consistency, doing the basics as what the armed forces recipe card calls for and not stepping outside those boundaries,” Hamilton said. “If not, there will be special instruction on the recipe card. If they are outside the parameters [of the recipe card], I will step in and make my recommendations.”
The awards ceremony also sets a standard for food service specialists to consistently provide quality service throughout the armed forces.
“Overall the award is a morale booster to the unit, but to me it’s another day of business,” said Hamilton.
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2015 14:41 |
| Story ID: | 163808 |
| Location: | CHICAGO, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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