Photo By Spc. Ethan Valetski | Pfc. Jimenez, a food service specialist from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, grills...... read more read more
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Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. – Soldiers from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade are competing in the 51st Annual Philip A. Connelly Awards Program, a culinary competition to find the best dining facility in the Army.
The Soldiers, who work at the Raptor’s Nest Dining Facility on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, have been recognized by the judges as the best on the installation and are now competing against the best DFAC from Fort Huachuca, AZ.
“I’m extremely confident in my Soldiers and believe we can win this competition,” said Dining Facility Manager, Sgt. 1st Class Russell Slouffman. “These Soldiers have been putting in a lot of hours in preparation for this competition.” Slouffman went on to say participants had been working 12 to 14 hours a day in preparation for the competition.
The Philip A. Connelly Program is the Department of the Army’s premier culinary competition. It began in 1968 and is one of the few competitions where all Army components, active, Reserve, and National Guard, compete against one another.
“Our biggest strengths coming into this are our excellent customer service and our professionalism,” said Slouffman. “We have a lot of new Soldiers at our facility who are eager to perform, and we match them with our non-commissioned officers to teach them proper procedures and techniques.”
Competitors are judged on a system that awards points for things such as sanitation, following recipes, food safety, proper cooking techniques, kitchen layout and hospitality.
For the majority of the Soldiers at the Raptor’s DFAC, it is their first time competing in this type of competition.
“I’m happy we’re able to show off our skills as a team,” said Pfc. Jazmine Sagrero, a food service specialist from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade on JBLM. “This is the first time I’ve really been challenged like this, and I am really excited to see how far we can get.”
If the Soldiers win this round, they will move on to compete against the final four Army DFACs in the continental United States.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.11.2017 19:13 |
| Story ID: | 244670 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 144 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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