# CF Dining Facilities (DFAC)



## MAJOR_Baker (3 Dec 2003)

Sorry I used a US Army acrynom, don‘t know the CDN Forces term...but hey, I was wondering how it works in the CFs?  Are the eating areas divided?  i.e. soldiers other than NCOs,NCOs, Senior NCOs, Officers?  Is the food any good, and do you have to pay for it?

Meals in garrison cost me:

$1.25-breakfast
$3.25-Lunch and dinner

Soldiers not on separate rations don‘t have to pay.  I do, if I elect to eat there.

Most of the time one can swallow the food and keep it down...occassionaly it is even not half bad.  How is it in the CF?


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## Jarnhamar (3 Dec 2003)

The camp i am at in bosnia has the best food i‘ve tasted in the canadian forces in 7 1/2 years. I supose it‘s a matter of cooking for 100 people or 1000+. 
Food is usually very good and i‘ve found in comparison to US military bases (atleast army bases) we get more of a choice in what we can eat. In Fort Drum and Fort Knox for example we were just handed meals.  Because we have a different varity (as far as i‘ve seen) we don‘t pay a set rate, we pay according to what we have but even then it‘s usually pretty cheap.
Some guys in garrison will pay a set rate, say $300 (?) a month and whatever they buy goes on a card and gets totaled up. Thats a bit of a rip off in my opinion because people have tried and often came no where near reaching their $300 limit. If we go on a tasking and don‘t have access to a mess we usually get meal cards to use which might have a limit of 15 or 20$ a day. When i worked with the airforce we were handed $50 a day, cash.  $10 for mcDonalds, 40 on drinks.

The areas are usually seperate having Privates to Master Corporals in one area, Sgt‘s and warrant officers in another annd then officers in a third though if space is lacking the last two are sometimes put together. On training bases we also seperate sometimes accoriding to whos staff and whos candidates.

Airforce and navy messes are usually a little more fancy then army ones.


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## elscotto937 (3 Dec 2003)

Ghost are you in Drvar? I here their food is the best! Normally, there has been separation of dinning halls for the Soldiers, Sgts and Warrant Officers, and Officers. But there is a growing trend within the CF that has a common dinning hall, and a small section for Senior NCOs and Officers. I think that this based on cost, and the relatively small number of officers and SNCOs who actually live in and eat in the mess on a regular basis. However, the drinking messes(bars) are still separate, and I don‘t see that changing in the near future. 
It is realively, the same system in Canada, if you live on the base you have the option of paying a set fee for the month, like ghost said, somewhere around 300 dollars. But I live off base and if I go to the mess to eat it usually costs somewhere around 4 Dollars.


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## Jarnhamar (3 Dec 2003)

$300 a month plus quarters seems like quite a bit, especially considering what a private makes vice a corporal. I‘m in Bihac, i‘ve never actually eaten in Drvar. Zgon and VK are pretty brutal but again it might be because of the difference in numbers the cooks have to prepare food for.


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## elscotto937 (3 Dec 2003)

I rate Drvar as the best, Bihac is a close second, after that there is Zgon, it‘s relatively on par with Banja Luka, Comming in very last for the Canadian Camps is VK (funny that they are all so big there...oh my that was my inside voice) Then there is Glamoc, don‘t arrive hungry there.


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## Pikache (3 Dec 2003)

Most of the messes I‘ve been at CFB‘s been pretty good.

Mmmmm... Fresh waffles for breakfast at Pet.
Mmmmm... Poutine virtually every meal.
Mmmmm... Thursday night steak night at Trenton.

Summer kitchens, blech.


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## Ex-Dragoon (3 Dec 2003)

Galleys onboard ship range from phenomenal to p*ss poor. Some of my best and worst meals have been onboard ship.


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## squeela1984 (3 Dec 2003)

I find training bases (i.e. borden/kingston/st.jean) are high in fat, fried foods.  Here in Edmonton we have a more healthy selection.  Also Meaford, Ontario has a very good mess health wise.  In Kingston, there was an area sectioned off for SGT/WO/MWO/CWO and officers.  Everyone else usually stayed together.


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## squeela1984 (3 Dec 2003)

I find training bases (i.e. borden/kingston/st.jean) are high in fat, fried foods.  Here in Edmonton we have a more healthy selection.  Also Meaford, Ontario has a very good mess health wise.  In Kingston, there was an area sectioned off for SGT/WO/MWO/CWO and officers.  Everyone else usually stayed together.  Here I pay $330 I think a month for food.  Quarters are 65.00 for now cause I‘m in temporary transient quarters, but my real permanent room will be about $225 a month.  It‘s almost too costly considering I may have a roommate and they do inspections when they want.  For this price I should be free of those things.  But I‘m just a Pte....it‘s not gonna change for me.


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## Redeye (3 Dec 2003)

Maj. Baker,

You‘d be able to eat in the BARFF (Base All-Ranks Feeding Facility) on a cash basis, if you were properly dressed, I believe.  A friend of mine joined me for dinner at CFB Trenton and merely paid the cost of his meal - it was steak night and it cost him less than $10.


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## Pikache (3 Dec 2003)

Dress code usually is something presentable. Jeans and shirt is fine.


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## birdgunner (3 Dec 2003)

I would have to say the worst military eating experience I have ever had was during OP Assistence in Peggy‘s Cove, Nova Scotia.  We were deployed to help in salvaging wreckage from the Swiss Air flight crash.  Our unit cook decided to make a "special" meal for all.......SWISS STEAK!  What a moron!  It wasn‘t long before the RSM changed the name to just steak.  To bad the grieving families had to see this kind display of compassion!


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## Ex-Dragoon (4 Dec 2003)

> Originally posted by kitch:
> [qb] To bad the grieving families had to see this kind display of compassion! [/qb]


I worked in the morgue during this and I don‘t think at the time those poor people cared what they ate. They were running on empty trying to deal with a situation that came as a shock to their systems that they had no idea what they ate let alone cared. I know I didn‘t much care for any food then from anyplace then as well.


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## Slim (4 Dec 2003)

Well I remeber the good old days (late eighties-early ninties-dating myself) When there was a meal card and you ate (get this!!!) as much as you liked! Even seconds were allowed.
While on the ticcs course I ate in the mess in Pet...Much better than it used to be.


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## Spr.Earl (5 Dec 2003)

By reading the post‘s many have not eaten under the old system?
No scan on what you eat,all the food was fresh not the precooked frozen crap mess hall‘s are giving out now.
All‘s you had was your mess card,all you could eat and the food was all fresh,no frozen crap like the Vile cutlet‘s etc.

Sherwood,you guy‘s still have s$%t on a shingle?
I don‘t mind grit‘s or collard green‘s but s#$t on a shingle is the worst I‘ve ever had,that could be construed as cruel and unusual punishment to one‘s digestive system LOL


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## Danjanou (5 Dec 2003)

Slim, Earl we‘re showing our age on here.    

These guys starting hearing they could get free seconds and you‘ll start a riot in the mess hall. 

Of course what goes around, comes around. The those base meal seconds compenstaed (almost) for the times someone screwed up in the field and there wasn‘t enough in the hay boxes to go around. Then the Senior NCOs and Officers (at least in my company ) did without.


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## Slim (5 Dec 2003)

I remeber my first time at Fort Knox...All night on a bus from T.O and they take us straight to the mess hall. This lady tries to give me GRITS!? I didn‘t know what it was and she didn‘t offer to explain...I know when you‘re in another country you‘re supposed to "eat domestic" but there was no way that that stuff was passing my lips!


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## primer (6 Dec 2003)

I do remember the meals at A 153 in Borden back in the 80s all you can eat most of the time.Now its Cash cash and cash and .10 cents for jam. The good thing is you can get take out. I like the Yukon Galley in Trenton eating a steak and having a beer.


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## primer (6 Dec 2003)

Maj Baker when i was at Ft Knox back in 86 why did the servers have to ware the helmets.the food was not that bad


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## primer (6 Dec 2003)

Maj Baker when i was at Ft Knox back in 86 why did the servers have to wear their helmets for.The food was not that bad.


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## Bringer (12 Dec 2003)

I‘m at WATC right now and you can have as many helpings as you like. Just flash your meal card as you enter the building and you‘re good to go.

The food is pretty good too, better than the mess at Esquimalt/Work Point. Lots of fresh veggies on the salad bar and the food actually has spices.

No complaints, other than Wainwright itself.


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## Tpr.Orange (12 Dec 2003)

we had our
mens christmas dinner last night and let me tell you mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm soooo good...

we had turkey and whipped potatoes gravy stuffing wine, salad and so on and so on.


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## Bert (12 Dec 2003)

Are you referring to the men or the dinner?


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## portcullisguy (15 Dec 2003)

My meal experiences since joining the CF as a Reservist in early 2002 have been short but wide-ranging.

BMQ weekends (aka "Hayboxes"):  Food varied from crap to good.  Portions were never a problem, and there were usually salads, desserts, etc. I hated breakfasts after a while... all the grease.  Ewww!

IMP‘s:  I hardly eat anything in there, and usually have to supplement with granola bars, pepperoni sticks, etc. The pasta entrees are usually the most edible, but I mainly eat the fruit, dessert, bread, PB & jam, and the powdered soups/cereals, etc.

Lunch Boxes:  Borden gave us pretty good lunch boxes, two sandwiches, juice or milk, fruit cup, etc.  Not bad, and at least better than eating an IMP.  Meaford‘s boxes were crap.  Apaprently over in Ottawa they get cans of pop in their lunch boxes, luck SOB‘s.

Meaford Summer Kitchen:  Not bad, but they were a bit naziish about extra desserts.  They had pizza almost every day, but I rarely ate it.  The greasy, heavy foods made me sleepy during the lectures, so I stuck to lighter courses and more greens whenever they looked decent.  I think you could get seconds, but usually there was no time.

Meaford Mess:  The main dining hall was awesome, any time of the day, and it was all-you-can-eat.  The only exception was the day of the power outage when they served us up some garbage.  Shame, too, we just came out of the field that day and I could‘ve used a heaping pasta dish or something.

Petawawa Mess:  Was there only briefly on day 1 of Milcon 2003, but the food was fantastic, great variety of stuff, and you could watch a big screen TV while you vacuumed down your meal.  The only drawback was I didn‘t have a meal card, and had to pay cash.  But the prices were reasonable and portions good.

Christmas Dinners:  The 48th Christmas dinner was last Friday, and they served us generous portions of haggis, turkey, stuffing, mashed tatties, and boiled-to-death veggies.  I could‘ve used more haggis.  Outstanding meal, catered by civvies.  Can‘t wait till next year!


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## Bert (15 Dec 2003)

Its one of those special things in life.. dont ask... just eat it.

Check out before lunch:
 http://www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html


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## Danjanou (15 Dec 2003)

> I gotta ask what is haggis?


Ok Major just for you. A haggis is a little tiny four legged mammal native to the highlands of Scotland. It‘s kind of like a ferret only with feathers. When properly prepared it is a delicacy but as you can guess an acquired taste.

They are fast little creatures and would be hard to catch except for one cruel feature in their genetic make up. Because their normal habitat is the sides of heather clad hills, Darwinisn has forced them to adapt to this in a most unique way. One set of legs is shorter than the others. (I mean one side as in right of left, not front and back). This works perfectly while scurrying around the sides of hills. However if you can lure them onto level ground they tend to keel over and can be easily trapped.

I hope this helps you in better understanding yet another aspect of our unique Celtic Canadian culture.


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## Michael Dorosh (15 Dec 2003)

The haggis is also known for its unique social groupings; they live in clans, rather like the human inhabitants of the Highlands used to.  They choose their leader based on how colourful his plumage is; generally the haggis with the most different colours among his feathers is accepted as the leader.

I am sure a google search would provide you with more information; the haggis has a long and interesting history.   It is because of haggis that Highlanders wear no underpants...but I guess we can‘treally give away all our secrets, now, can we?


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## Veteran`s son (16 Dec 2003)




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## Danjanou (16 Dec 2003)

Thank you Michael. I knew I forgot a few pertinent facts there. I really must pop that tape I made of the Discovery Channel episode "The Haggis, Feathered Ferret of the Highlands" into the VCR tonight.


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## Gibson (16 Dec 2003)

"Beautiful Plumage"  just like it‘s cousin the Norwegian Blue.


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## chrisf (16 Dec 2003)

I‘ve been told that CFB Goose Bay is excellent as far as the mess is concerned... of course, this was told to me by a couple of guys who ate their after some winter-indoc...


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## Spartan (16 Dec 2003)

I‘ve eaten in 17 Wing Junior Ranks
4 Wing Cold Lake- All Ranks
CFB Esquimalt- Work Point-
I‘d say out of those...they‘re all good


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## portcullisguy (18 Dec 2003)

Poor guy, S_Baker asks a simple question, and gets a load of smart assed replies...

Ahh... but they were pretty funny!

In a nutshell, S_Baker, haggis is a Scottish traditional delicacy.

It is a mixture of oatmeal, onion, garlic, pepper, and some unidentifiable meat (usually kidney and/or liver), stuffed into a sheep‘s stomach and roasted.

I have been told there is also vegetarian haggis, although don‘t ask me what it‘s cooked in, if not sheep‘s stomach.  Like a sausage or hot dog, the ground meat filling needs a case to keep it all together.

It sounds gross, but I assure you it is very tasty!


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## Slim (18 Dec 2003)

Geez...You guys gotta take it easy on the Major. After all he is sort of our guest on the site. And he does make an effort to "talk to us" pretty often, despite some of the things that have been said around here.


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## Thompson_JM (18 Dec 2003)

Hmm id say in my 5 meager years as a Mo, ive eaten a few army dinners.

IMP‘s in my opinion some are good and some are bad, it all depends on what you get.

Hayboxes: In borden youre usually ok. in meaford, uh yeah.. bring a sandwich... you end up getting creative with some of the food, turning as much as you can into sandwich form, but usually its all edible. if nothing else.

Messes: Meaford - Nothing special. food is pretty good most days, but every now and again you get something nasty.
Borden - borden has two messes, the Airforce mess, out by the runway, and the old mess by the Rod and Gun club. both are pretty good, but the Air Force Mess wins in the end. its a little nicer inside, and it seems as if the food is just better too.

Pettawawa - oh my god.... it is without a doubt the best food in the CF... the few occations ive eaten in there were like slices of heaven. its probabbly the nicest of the messes ive been in.


yeah i know MSE OPs are always in the Rear with the Gear. but then, wouldnt that mean we obviously know the good stuff from the bad?


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## Bert (18 Dec 2003)

My dad was stationed at CFS Foymount, a pinetree-line site, during the early to mid 1960s.  Apparently the cooks who served in the Sgts‘ Mess prepared an amazing spaggetti dish known as "Foymount spaggetti".  A thick spiced meat and tomato sauce was poured over spaggetti noodles.  CF personnel from as far as Petawawa and Ottawa would chopper into Foymount for this dish according to my dad.


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## patt (18 Dec 2003)

i was talkin to my boss (i work at a mess) and she was telling me that the messes are going back to the swipe card system!


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## sgtdixon (20 Dec 2003)

Ive Eaten at the Following Messes from time to time;
4 Wing All Ranks
CFB Esquimalt Work Point
Garrison Edmonton Junior Ranks
and I got to hit up the Junior Ranks in Comox once and out of those id say
4 Wing does it the best, especially there hashbrowns... goldurn best brown I ever had


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## GerryCan (23 Dec 2003)

The odd time I find myself complaining about the food we are served and have to step back and think again about what I‘m complaining about. In Bosnia we have really good food, other than the fact that it‘s pretty much all deep fried, we go to the field and eat cake and chocolate bars etc. etc. Comparing to US army in a whole we have it a lot better, other than the Burger King they have in Sarejevo and who knows where else. Our hard Rats aren‘t too bad either, better than any other countries Rats I‘ve tried. 
To put it quite simply, it‘s very easy to get fat in the CDN Army...especially CFB Trenton and Camp Drvar!


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