Attention! Present… food!

Hard-working mother-of-two Morgan Ross helps feed an army during her workaday life but when she goes home, it’s a rarity if she even picks up a pot or pan in the kitchen.

Morgan, or to use her correct title – Sergeant Ross – has been the chef in the Australian Army Catering Corps for almost thirteen years and is loving life based at The Daly Mess Precinct, Lavarack Barracks in tropical Townsville. The BISTRO team interviewed the bubbly thirty-four-year-old to glean another insight into a chef’s life. We learned that the efficiency of the Australian Army Catering Corps has a direct influence on the morale and well-being of our combat soldiers.

Feeding an army is always going to toss up a myriad of logistical challenges for those involved in the catering sector. Sourcing produce isn’t always easy while preparing food in difficult climates and on rugged terrains, and can cause major limitations. Typically, those challenges are met head-on and our defence force members are fed superbly by a dedicated crew of chefs and cooks who are as vital to the army as those who fight on the front line. Before we get to know Sgt. Morgan Ross a little better, it might be of benefit to spell out the various ‘stations’ that exist within our Army kitchens.

Army chefs and cooks are trained to provide specialist catering support in every theatre of operations, ranging from formal dinners to catering for 500 elite troops while stationed overseas. Catering soldiers prepare, cook and serve meals in both field kitchens and Army establishments, to meet the dietary needs of the soldiers. Extremely high standards are essential here and members of the Corps take a great deal of pride in the hygienic preparation of nutritious and appetising meals. Cooks may advance through the ranks to positions of responsibility, such as shift, kitchen and catering supervisors. The catering supervisors’ main job functions at this level include menu planning, ordering and stock control of food, rostering staff, conducting on-the-job training and workplace assessment, and providing technical catering advice. Full-time Army cooks are required to prepare complete meals comprising soups, entrees, main courses, sweets, cakes, pastry and yeast products. The preparation of all types of meals is predominantly bulk cookery in a commercial kitchen and field environment. Army Reserve cooks prepare meals in a predominately field environment.

Before joining the Australian Army Catering Corps, Morgan helped her parents run a mixed business in a tourist town in central Victoria. She worked a second job as a cook’s assistant and waitress in a nearby café and it wasn’t long before she felt that the catering industry was her calling. She found that the training required was much the same as that experienced by apprentice chefs in civilian life.

“Our intakes go to TAFE and learn all aspects of the catering trade,” she said, “Junior chefs are grade-tested much the same as apprentice chefs in the civilian workplace. Certificates are civilian accredited so, if and when we decide to discharge from the Australian Defence Force, we are qualified to take on roles in the private sector. These TAFE courses have a specific focus for Army cooks. Part of this is getting a good grasp and understanding of nutritional requirements. We follow the healthy food pyramid, as it is policy to provide this to our highly-active service personnel. I’d say the main difference between cooking in the Army as opposed to the normal foodservice industry, is that Army, catering provides a service for a wide range of defence personnel who need strict diets and menus that cover their nutritional needs. Obviously, we are catering for highly-active people in different environments, whether in the field, overseas on deployment, or within the barracks.”

Morgan, deployed to East Timor in the early 2000s, has had extensive experience in just about all aspects of Army catering. The highest number of soldiers she catered for at one time was 1,500 at one sitting. “That was when I was a junior chef working at my first posting. It was at Kapooka (near the NSW city of Wagga) where all civilians go for their initial training after enlistment. It was a very busy place for the army chefs back then but today, the kitchens are run by a civilian company.”

BISTRO magazine wondered how difficult it was to source and ultimately purchase the necessary produce. Would Army chefs go to the local markets, and how did they buy their meat?

“The produce on deployments is sometimes of better quality than some produce we get in Australia,” she replied. “The reason being is that we sometimes get Australian imports and meats, and produce of foreign countries, that turns out to be better quality than that available within the country. However, there are also times when produce is of very limited quality, it just depends on what is available at the time.

“We do a broad range of food preparation and service. There is bulk cookery in the bigger kitchens catering for large numbers. We also have an up-market restaurant-style/fine dining kitchen called a small mess which fires up for functions, formal dinners, buffets, top tables, morning and afternoon teas and so on. When preparing for a formal dinner, the kitchen presents a menu to the Dining President. This consists of entrees,  mains and dessert. We usually present this one week prior to the function. The Dining President in collaboration with the dining party, make changes if necessary. Usually, there are two alternate plates for entrée and mains. We usually get these recipes from the latest food magazines!

“The menus we provide are much the same as any menu you’d find in a commercial kitchen. However, we try to change the menu every day depending on the rations we receive. Our diners get a great variety of food selection, thanks largely to the imagination of the shift manager.

“We do cater for special occasions, such as formal dinners, functions, buffets, top tables, morning and afternoon teas. You would be surprised at the quality and professionalism displayed by our Army chefs. The standard we provide to our senior members is outstanding.”

BISTRO quizzed Sgt. Ross on that all-important subject: budget.

“There is a set cost per head per day and it is important that we operate within this budget,” she said. “The catering sector is forever mindful of budget, forever careful not to overspend. All rations and food is accountable on all levels. However, I will add that all of our soldiers are catered for and no one goes hungry!”

We wondered how Army chefs catered for soldiers serving on the
front line.

“These guys and girls receive meals in an individual con foil hot box, or in a combat ration pack, packaged up in a semi-sterol environment,” she continued. “We, as catering personnel, do not enter the front line, that is not our role. Our job, in this respect, is to provide a service to those on the front line. The ration packs contain dry food, such as rice, that just requires  water added. Hydrorations are supplied by outside suppliers that specialise in this food area. The packs have a very high kilojoule value.”

Sgt. Ross explained the pecking order and rankings to be found in military kitchens.

“Kitchen roles within a military environment are much the same as those found in civilian establishments,” she said. “However, we have Caterers as our head chefs, Sergeants as kitchen supervisors, Corporals as shift managers, Privates as apprentice chefs depending on the year they are completing. An average military kitchen is usually combined with Army chefs from different units, who work together in one large kitchen called an OR’s Mess. There are approximately four to eight rostered chefs feeding around 300 diners. Two chefs would usually run a small cafe/fine dining kitchen that is called an Officers’ or Sergeants’ Mess. These are run by either a Sergeant or Corporal supervisor.

“I am often asked about the shifts available for Army chefs. Basically, we have two. Day shift is from 7am-4pm and there is also a twelve- hour shift where you operate two days on, two days off.”

Winding up our interview, we asked Sgt. Ross how long she planned to live the army life?

“I plan to stay in the Army until I get sick of it, however that won’t be any time soon,” she replied. “I love the military — the comraderie, the challenges, the variety it gives, and last but not least, the mateship it provides.

“My husband Jason is also in the military. We have two children, Lachlan (five) and Shaunee (three). It’s fair to say that I run a very tight ship at home, as we are a very active family, always on the go. Jason and I are into fitness in a big way and we encourage the kids to participate with us.

“We live away from the barracks in Townsville and really love it here. The town is very family-oriented.  I will be very sad the day when we are transferred from here to another location within Australia.”

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