Story by: Spc. Erik LeDrew
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq -- Between the crowds of people wolfing down chow and the din of conversation, every meal must seem like a banquet at the chow halls around Baghdad and they may as well be. But one Soldier knows the difference between hungry Soldiers satisfying their stomachs and a genuine banquet.
Before Spc. Ben Woolard became an Army cook, or "food service specialist," with the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment out of Fort Riley, Kan., he was a chef-in-training running the banquet hall at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel in Louisville, Ky.
"I was a banquet chef there, which basically involved supervising the cooking for big parties," the 23-year-old said. "I also got to make big ice sculptures and display them on the buffets."
While working at the hotel, Woolard was also attending Sullivan University, ranked third in the nation for culinary arts studies, where he earned his associate's degree after attending class for 18 months.
"I just love to cook, you're so free to be creative with it," he said, commenting on his choice of study, "but I didn't really know where it was going to take me."
Indeed, Woolard probably never guessed that after working two years as an executive chef at "The Lombardio Café," an Italian restaurant, that he would be enlisting in the Army to serve his country.
"I enlisted Jan. 21, 2003," the West Frankfort, Ill. native said. "I chose to be a food service specialist in the Army because I love the job and I knew it was something I could do."
After going through basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., Woolard attended his job's eight-and-a-half-week advanced individual training.
"The Army covers sanitation, the basics of cooking, working in small garrison and large garrison chow halls, and then field cooking, which involved working with MKT's [Mobile Kitchen Trailers]," Woolard said.
Going from the "free to be creative" job of a professional chef to that of an Army "chow" cook was at first a shock for Woolard.
"It was a pretty big change for me," he said. "It was going from overseeing everything in a kitchen to being just another worker.
"And the atmosphere is, of course, totally different," he added. "There isn't much room for creativity in an Army chow hall because you go by set recipes."
After graduating AIT, Woolard was stationed at Ft. Riley with 1-41 Infantry until they were deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II with the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mtn. Div. in June 2004.
"So far this deployment isn't that bad," he said. "It definitely could be worse. I mean, I've got three hot meals and a bed to sleep in. I can't complain."
Although he's a trained cook, Woolard was doing some very un-cook-like related tasks shortly after he arrived in Iraq.
"I spent five weeks manning a [traffic control-point] in eastern Baghdad and a week patrolling [Baghdad's slum] Sadr City," he said.
It wasn't long, however, before he was back working at a place more familiar to him. Because the cooks are all contracted civilian employees at the De Fleur dining facility, Woolard can't put to hands-on use his culinary education.
"At the chow hall, I oversee the cooking and preparation of food; I ensure sanitation in the kitchen; and check temperatures on the food stocks," he said.
Despite the presence of civilian cooks, Woolard doesn't discount the off chance that his Army training may be put to use out here.
"I haven't had to use my field cooking skills ... yet," he said with a laugh.
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2004 14:28 |
| Story ID: | 560 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 19 |
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