A look at NWS Yorktown's 5-Star Scudder Hall galley

Photo By Max Lonzanida | Yorktown, Va. (November 2, 2023) A civilian contractor from Versability Resources serves hungry diners at the Scudder Hall galley onboard Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. (U.S. Navy Photo by Max Lonzanida/Released).  

YORKTOWN , VA, UNITED STATES

11.05.2023

Story by Max Lonzanida  

Naval Weapons Station Yorktown

Yorktown, Va. (November 5, 2023) Naval Weapons Station Yorktown’s Scudder Hall galley was recently awarded another 5-Star accreditation during a brief ceremony earlier this week. Leadership from Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, civilian staff members from Versability, dedicated Culinary Specialists and the installation’s Executive Officer, Commander Alfred Williams were present during the brief ceremony. A follow on visit to the galley during their lunch rush shed some insights into the operation of one of the region’s most awarded galleys.


“One thing that we preach everyday is a good quality meal for our servicemembers because we are here for them,” said Chief Richard Anguico. He recently checked into this galley, and attended the installation-wide indoctrination just a few weeks prior. “We want to ensure that we touch their very soul when they are eating; and we want them to know they can relax when they come in,” he noted. “We often get an influx of servicemembers that come through, and its challenging because we may have maybe 60 to 80 at once,” he said. Just like clockwork, at around 1100, a queue of hungry Marines cycled through the door and lined up.


“We have trained Versability [civilian contractors] counterparts that help serve them in a timely manner and we set people in place so that we are setup for success,” said the Chief. Like a well oiled machine, diners cycling through were quickly served piping hot servings of a choice of spaghetti or baked chicken by one of the Culinary Specialists or contractors behind the hot serving line. On the other side of the hot serving line was CS2 Dion Hill who quickly replaced an empty tray of freshly cut watermelon chunks in the adjacent cold serving line. Just minutes before the lunchtime rush, he was busy cutting fresh watermelon and cantaloupe in the galley’s cold vegetable locker. Hill, like many of the dedicated Sailors and civilians on duty during this busy lunchtime watch, had been going since 0430 when the watch started.


By 1120, the Marines and Sailors passed empty dishes and trays through a window to the galley’s scullery. Inside the space, two contractors were emptying food scraps into trash cans and rinsing dishes before loading them into an industrial dish washer. The team didn’t do much talking since the onslaught of dirty dishes could easily pile up. The lack of food waste was pointed out by the galley’s Food Service Officer, Chief Warrant Officer 3 David Burston. He pointed out that their menu review board places more ownership of the menu with the diners that they serve, and the lack of waste is an indicator of success. “Instead of doing catfish and cod all the time, we do more grilled salmon because it’s a fan favorite. And of course, the chicken quesadillas, burger days and taco days are always popular,” he noted as he helped replenish the clean trays at one of the serving lines. “Our menu review board helps bring the morale up because our servicemembers put that together, not us,” he said.


Around 1130, the all-important coffee dispenser needed to be replenished. CS2 Estle Hawkins, the on-duty Watch Captain, quickly pointed out that it goes empty around this time. “Around 1130, our workflow picks up, but our pace doesn’t slack,” said Hawkins, while replenishing fresh coffee grinds. Hawkins noted that he takes pride in his role in the busy galley, and was eager to share his enthusiasm for his watch collection in-between replenishing cups and wiping the drink stations down while avoiding the onslaught on thirsty diners. In-fact, he showed this author one of his daily wears, a stainless steel matted Seiko dive watch. He was present earlier this week when the 5-Star Accreditation was presented. “The 5-star award adds that extra push to our production here, and its great,” he said, as he checked his watch one more with a beaming smile.


As the lunch rush waned, a busy CWO3 Burston shared some insights to what it takes to earn a 5-Star accreditation. He noted that this was his first assignment at a 5-Star galley. He noted that the rating cycle started in February this year, and evaluators look at how the staff keeps track of inventory, how food items are stored, sanitation, how individual dishes are prepared, and how closely his dedicated staff of Culinary Specialists follow a recipe card. “The evaluators want us to look at the recipe card, even if it is one that we know by heart and make that conversion based on the how many people we are serving. They want us to follow the directions from the leading Culinary Specialist and what is on that NAVSUP 1090; We get scored on a lot of factors, even measuring the ingredients to ensure that we are not free styling,” he said.


Burston noted some final thoughts about this recent 5-Star accreditation. “It’s huge, because it highlights what we do here at Scudder Hall. Once we get that score above 95, we are not only a galley that is scraping by, but we are also going above and beyond to make sure we put our best foot forward. In turn the Sailors who are assigned here feel good because of the ownership that they take in their duties, and I’m proud of them.”

• Date Taken: 11.05.2023
• Date Posted: 11.05.2023 21:43
• Story ID: 457243
• Location: YORKTOWN , VA, US