Photo By Seaman Dylan O'Neal | Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Shelby Spinnato, from Caldwell, Idaho, assigned to USS...... read more read more
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Civilian and military life are vastly different, and many service members have their struggles adjusting to entering the service. Once contracted service has been served, is it easier to transition back, and how well does your job translate into the civilian world?
Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Shelby Spinnato, along with Culinary Specialist Seaman Gabriel Turner, Culinary Specialist Seaman Recruit Gonzalo Stivalet, Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Oludamilola Alibi, and Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Shakalia Haigler had the opportunity to be assigned temporarily with their civilian counterparts to gain experience. From working at bakeries and restaurants, all of them were able to learn valuables skills to bring into their Navy life.
“Everywhere you go there is always that pressure that you want to represent the military” said Spinnato. “Going to the bakery, I felt at ease and very welcomed.”
From Sweet Home, Oregon, Spinnato is the main baker aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). She bakes cakes for celebrations, award presentations, and desserts for Sailors at the end of their meal. Spinnato originally got into baking by expressing to her chain of command she was a cake decorator, and she was interested in working in the ship’s bake shop. Recently, her cake decoration led her to compete in a cake decorating competition against nearby naval bases. She took home first place for her raspberry lemon pound-cake.
Master Chief Culinary Specialist Patrick Parigi brought up the idea of doing a temporarily assigned duty at civilian bakeries and restaurants to a few CS’s working in the galley.
“I thought we could only go to military courses and C-schools” said Spinnato. “The thought of being able to work and learn at a civilian-owned business never crossed my mind.”
Other senior enlisted around USS Ronald Reagan have not heard of being TAD to civilian businesses either, and were under the same impression.
“Master Chief Parigi said to me ‘if the military is willing to do it and it offers good learning opportunities then you can go to these civilian institutions,’” said Spinnato. “So he made it happen, and I got sent to a bakery called Ad Astra in
Monterey, California.”
Spinnato was sent for a total of three weeks where she learned and acquired the technical skills related to baking different kinds of bread. The first week was about sourdough bread, where she was able to take away the importance of the different hydration stages. The last two weeks were about puff pastry and croissants, yet croissants was her biggest hurdle.
“Croissants were by far the hardest part for me, they were nerve-wracking,” said Spinnato. “They are so easy to mess up, as soon as the butter under a fold melts it’s messed up.”
After that, four other Culinary Specialists were sent for temporary duty to civilian institutions as well. Turner, was sent to Chez Noir, a Michelin Star restaurant in Carmel by the Sea, California. Stivalet went to a bakery named Tarts de Feybesse in Monterey. Alibi and Haigler were sent to a West African restaurant in New Orleans named Dakar NOLA.
“My biggest takeaway from this experience was the consistency of everything,” said Haigler. “Especially the recipes and operation.”
Differences between the bakery and the galley were vast. Especially with the equipment available to Spinnato. While aircraft carriers have bakeries, the primary mission of the galley is to keep Sailors fed, not provide them with a bevy of specialty pastries and sweet treats. Conversely, a civilian bakery has the luxury of being purpose-built with a tailored suite of specialized equipment.
Now, Spinnato is able to bring bread to the next level, not only in her personal life, but on Reagan as well.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2025 13:57 |
| Story ID: | 543634 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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