Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Syretha Crawford, a food service operations noncommissioned officer, Headquarters...... read more read more
NEW YORK — While toughing through long missions with days and nights of extreme weather and little comfort, it’s often the simple things that bring the most joy — like a nice plate of food.
It’s those smiles on worn faces of Soldiers eating chow that Sgt. Syretha Crawford a culinary noncommissioned officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 67th Signal Battalion (Expeditionary), 35th Signal Brigade (Theater Tactical), says brings her the most joy.
“Food makes people happy. When you have a full Soldier you have a happy Soldier,” she said with a grin.
It was Crawford’s passion for cooking and award-winning skills that earned her a place representing the U.S. Army on "The Rachael Ray Show," a day-time cooking show, Veterans Day special filmed in New York City, which aired Nov. 11.
“That was the best feeling in the world because in my mind out of every [food service specialist] in the entire United States Army I was able to stand in the forefront for us all. I think that was the most humbling experience ever,” said Crawford. “It was an experience I would never trade for the world.”
Crawford recently arrived to Fort Gordon, Georgia, when she was selected to appear on the show after winning an Iron Chef Competition at the Culinary Arts Center at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2013.
During the episode titled “An Armed Forces Cook-Off to Honor Our Veterans,” Crawford and other participants prepared a 30-minute meal.
“It was pretty cool we got to go on set where [Rachael’s] culinary team put everything out for us once we gave them our recipes,” said Crawford.
On the show she prepared shrimp and avocado bisque, the same dish that won her the Fort Hood competition.
“I thought ‘it’s going to be cold in New York so let’s go with a soup-and-sandwich,’ and I threw the shrimp in there just to kick it up a little bit,” she said.
Crawford didn’t always plan to be an Army cook but chose the job because she knew how to do it and thought it would be fun, she said.
“What I enjoy most about my job is cooking for Soldiers,” she said. “In the Army we work with very limited resources. I like taking the simplest ingredients and making it look like a $100 plate even though it may have only cost $5.”
Dining Facilities staffed by military cooks are the primary source of food for many service members on a regular basis and food in field and combat environments is most often prepared by military food service specialists.
“I can remember putting out beef pot roast one time and it was a Soldier’s favorite food and he had been in the field for a while,” Crawford recalled. “I was still in the kitchen cooking and my senior came and got me and was like, ‘somebody wants to speak with you.’ It was the Soldier and he said ‘that tasted like my mom cooked it.’ Those moments are very important when we are putting out food.”
Crawford spends most days now at Dining Facility 13 practicing meals for future culinary competitions. She says cooking is not only a job for her but also a means of bonding with her 6-year-old daughter.
“For me it’s another way to spend time with my daughter. We can make a mess baking cake pops. She doesn’t know that she’s learning - she just thinks we are making a mess in the kitchen,” said Crawford.
In the future Crawford plans on obtaining a degree in pastry and baking from Le Cordon Bleu culinary college in Atlanta and eventually opening up her own chain of restaurants.
“The majority of my inspiration for cooking comes from a love of food. I like trying stuff. You’ve got to burn some stuff and try it over again and it’s fun,” said Crawford who described savory dishes as her specialty. “I want to do pastry because it’s more of a challenge. I want to do something that isn’t easy that doesn’t come so natural.”
Crawford’s experience in cooking has inspired her to have a positive outlook that she intends to carry with her wherever she goes.
“Cook with your heart, no matter what you do, cook with love,” she said. “You’re going to make mistakes but you learn from them. Just try it. Don’t ever be limited by what you think you can do.”
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.24.2014 16:05 |
| Story ID: | 148697 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, NY, US |
| Hometown: | TUSCALOOSA, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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