FORT HOOD, Texas - Cooks from the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade competed in the small Garrison Philip A. Connelly Competition March 4 at the Patriot Inn Dining Facility here.
The Philip A. Connelly Competition is a competition for food service personnel throughout the military services. The purpose of the competition is to improve the quality of food throughout the military and provide well deserved recognition for the food service personnel who deserve it most.
The Soldiers preparation for the competition started weeks before the actual competition day. The food service personnel at the Patriot Inn Dining Facility spent countless hours on making sure that they had their menu set, their facilities spotless, and their cooks prepared to achieve success.
For many of the members of 69th ADA’s Connelly Team, this is not their first experience competing in the Philip A. Connelly Competition. Throughout the year of 2009, 69th ADA’s Connelly Team took first place in the field portion of the FORSCOM level of the competition and moved on to the Department of the Army level of the competition, finishing second place overall.
"We want to set the standard and win," said Spc. Thomas Cropper, a cook from the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery of the 1st Battalion, 44th ADA Regiment, 69th ADA Bde.
After preparing for weeks, 69th ADA’s Connelly team feels confident in their abilities to do well, Cropper added.
There are more aspects to the Philip A. Connelly Competition other than cooking. The cooks have to make sure to follow a set schedule while preparing the food, follow the recipes with no variation what-so-ever, properly serve the food to the dining facility patrons, and make sure that their facilities are clean and tidy in the kitchen and in the dining area.
The personnel working at the Patriot Inn Dining Facility have a unique love for cooking, and that makes this dining facility stand out from the rest, said Sgt. Lyndon Brown, a cook from C Battery, 1st Battalion, 44th ADA Regt., 69th ADA Bde.
"We put our heart and soul into our food," he added.
Overall, this competition is a good experience and a good challenge that results in good quality food, said Sgt. Vincent Apolista, a cook from HHB, 1st Battalion, 44th ADA Regt., 69th ADA Bde.
There are three dining facilities participating in the small Garrison Philip A. Connelly Competition on Fort Hood. The facilities include the Patriot Inn Dining Facility, Operation Iraqi Freedom Memorial Dining Facility and Freeman Cafe Dining Facility.
The results of the small Garrison level of the competition are scheduled to be released in late March. The winner will move on to the IMCOM level of the competition.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2010 11:29 |
| Story ID: | 46567 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 281 |
| Downloads: | 215 |
This work, Air Defense Artillery Soldiers put cooking skills to the test, by SGT Maria Kappell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
