Marking a major step forward in the Navy’s evolving food service vision, Culinary Institute of America Chef George Shannon visited the Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) Gulfport Colmer Dining Facility to deliver hands-on training to culinary specialists, March 30-April 3.
Culinary specialists who attended the training learned advanced food prep techniques, flavor development, and serving presentation to create a balanced and visually appealing dining experience for customers.
Trainees observed chef demonstrations before splitting into teams where they practiced essential skills like knife techniques, batch production, and spice blends to guarantee consistent flavor and quality when preparing large quantities of food. Trainees also learned "scratch preparation", reinforcing cooking fundamentals and techniques as a contrast to pre-prepared meals.
“It’s been a privilege to have seasoned professionals like those from the Culinary Institute of America working here with our team,” said NCBC Food Service Officer Chief Warrant Officer 3 Charles Blanton. “Our Culinary Specialists are already skilled, but stepping outside comfort zones, whether learning new techniques or reinforcing the fundamentals, elevates us all. In the end, training opportunities like this will make us a stronger, more effective team.”
Chef Shannon provided practical instruction on 10 of the 78 newly developed recipes for the campus menu including recipes like sweet and tangy tofu, orzo with lemon and herbs, shrimp poke bowls, chickpea curry and basmati rice bowl. The training challenged each team to master the execution and presentation of new recipes within a high-volume environment.
“The chickpea curry wasn’t something I would’ve tried before class, but I enjoyed seeing how the flavors meshed.” said Culinary Specialist 1st Class Justinne Fields who participated in the course. “Learning about how to use the different aromatics and spices made it all come together. The class has been pretty fast paced but I really liked it.”
A major component of the training involved moving beyond basic seasoning to focus on flavor development, giving trainees the opportunity to experiment with aromatics and spice mixtures from Indian, Mediterranean and Thai cuisine.
Chef Shannon noted the training would benefit culinary specialists but encouraged continued education to hone the skills learned over the week-long course.
“One of the biggest challenges of on-the-job training is it is usually focused on key culinary skills while a nonmilitary student that attended a culinary program, like at the CIA, would be exposed to a broader spectrum of the culinary arts. Continuing education classes would help make them more proficient in various cuisines, cooking methods, and other skills” said Chef Shannon.
By teaching techniques that showcase fresh vegetables and lean proteins, Chef Shannon emphasized the critical role of ingredient selection. The instruction focused on "quality" as a primary metric, showing how ingredient choices directly contribute to the overall quality and visual appeal of the final dish.
The training partnership equipped culinary specialists assigned to the Colmer Dining Facility with additional skills in preparation for the launch of the Campus Style Dining Initiative, which aims to transform galleys into a modern, college campus-style dining concept. The initiative highlights the Navy’s commitment to improving the galley experience to support warfighter readiness, wellness, and performance through better nutrition.
Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, serves more than 10,000 service members, civilian personnel, veterans and family members. NCBC Gulfport is home to the Atlantic Fleet Seabees, the Naval Construction Training Center, the Expeditionary Combat Skills Training Center and nearly 40 tenants from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.