What's the food like on course? (BMQ, DP, ect...) [Merged]

[Hammer Sandwich]

From my admittedly limited experience, which only comprised of ONE 7 week stretch, and then returns almost monthly to same, and occasional box lunches and Galley meals from various places....


You will never eat better than you will as a person employed by the Department of National Defense. IMO

If you have eaten better, you either still live at home, or have a ridiculous enough grocery budget to provide yourself with such fare.

I can't say enough about the food where I took my basic. If I recall correctly, we (the Platoon), dropped off an envelope with well over $200 to the kitchen before course end....a pittance, I know, but we just had to let the kitchen know in one way or another how much we appreciated their work.

If you don't eat, you die.

If you eat well, you can still die, but you'll have a good meal in your belly....(I guess).


Just my opinion though.


Good God, I miss that food.

 

[Pusser]

You will never eat better than you will as a person employed by the Department of National Defense. IMO

Not to be picky, but everyone should realize that CF members are NOT employees of the Department of National Defence.  Although the lines are admittedly blurred (especially at NDHQ), the CF and DND are two separate entities. 

 

[Hammer Sandwich]

Not to be picky, but everyone should realize that CF members are NOT employees of the Department of National Defence.  Although the lines are admittedly blurred (especially at NDHQ), the CF and DND are two separate entities.

Whoops, my mistake.  :-[

 

[Ascendant]

You will never eat better than you will as a person employed by the Department of National Defense. IMO

If you have eaten better, you either still live at home, or have a ridiculous enough grocery budget to provide yourself with such fare.

Lol.

I eat everything I want for a pretty small weekly bill. If you buy bulk and buy smart, it's not hard.

 

[Biggoals2bdone]

Its only steak night if you consider what they dish out to be "steak".......

Agreed, not trying to criticize the cooks on this, but honestly can say that's one of the worst steaks i've ever had in my life, and what bothers me the most is that horribly cut of meat, where half the damn thing is grissle.

You will never eat better than you will as a person employed by the Department of National Defense. IMO

I think it differs per person, i've found a lot of people feed their kids crap while the grown ups eat good food, because they dont think kids can appreciate good food at such a young age, so these people grow up not knowing what good food really is.  My parents didn't want to make 2-3 different things at home, so grown-ups and kids ate the same thing, and i've eaten worse then the mess (not in my own home, or my parents/families) but i've certainly eaten better, and unless I have to eat CF food (because of courses, deployment, etc) I won't be setting foot in the Mess for food.

 

[Bluebulldog]

We as a society are too focused on food.

I'm currently on weekend BMQ in Hamilton at JFA.

The food, while repetitive, is fine. Powdered eggs, and comrpressed pork riblet for breakfast.....get it in you. Chicken burger, and tough pork chop with rice at lunch.....shovel it back.

Food is fuel, period. If you are spending your time complaining about what you're eating, you are either not busy enough, or too fussy.

Having said that, yes I enjoy my meals. T Bone or striploin with a nice red, and some decent coffee and dessert after.....you bet. But I've got little complaint with what gets served when we're on course. I haven't puked yet.

 

[readytogo]

As bulldog is aware I am also currently on weekend BMQ in edmonton,  We get standard hot breakfasts every morning...bacon, hard boiled eggs, sausage, beans and potatoes.  Lunch is always a box lunch which reminds me of sandwiches i would pick up at a gas station, cheese veggie's etc (suffer through)  Dinner was minute steaks, green beans, potatoes, pasta and some kind of unidentifiable cream sauce with what reminded me of bacon bits in it.  All in all the food is 70/30 maybe 80-20 but who cares.  What your eating is not the point as blue eluded to.  Although i have yet to have them i understand field rations to be worse.  Be thankful for what you get and soldier on!! have fun with it.

RTG

 

[Scott]

We as a society are too focused on food.

I'm currently on weekend BMQ in Hamilton at JFA.

The food, while repetitive, is fine. Powdered eggs, and comrpressed pork riblet for breakfast.....get it in you. Chicken burger, and tough pork chop with rice at lunch.....shovel it back.

Food is fuel, period. If you are spending your time complaining about what you're eating, you are either not busy enough, or too fussy.

Having said that, yes I enjoy my meals. T Bone or striploin with a nice red, and some decent coffee and dessert after.....you bet. But I've got little complaint with what gets served when we're on course. I haven't puked yet.

Agree in principle. However, my experience says that good tasting and wholesome food, with the occasional treats, makes for happier and more productive people. I work offshore and very rarely complain about the food because, for the very most part, it is awesome.

Why? Because the oil companies have realized that they can skimp on a few things but food is generally not one of them. The workers are already away from home and have plenty to bitch about there, give 'em one less thing to complain about by making sure there is good food and lots of it.

I've actually been able to put my finger on levels of morale just by what is being served. Job going badly for a few weeks and add in crappy weather = likely to see some lobster or big fat steaks. Birthdays are usually a great chance for the cooks to try their hand at cakes which is always appreciated and weekly rotations sometimes see a sandwich bar night or something similar, just to break things up.

So while food is indeed just fuel it is also a needed crutch.

 

[desert_rat]

I recall an anecdote I read somewhere about the late Jazz legend Miles Davis who, prior to a gig, and after hearing a band member kvetch about the catering in the "green room", opined "we ain't here to eat, man" 8)

 

[mariomike]

This may have been previously posted.

"Welcome to the Canadian Forces Cook's web site!":
http://www.members.shaw.ca/cfcooks/

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfcooks/

 

[Pusser]

The food, while repetitive, is fine. Powdered eggs, and comrpressed pork riblet for breakfast.....get it in you. Chicken burger, and tough pork chop with rice at lunch.....shovel it back.

Where on earth did you find powdered eggs in the Canadian Forces.  Every CF cook I know (and I know plenty) would die before allowing powdered eggs to come out of their kitchens!

 

[Jorkapp]

Where on earth did you find powdered eggs in the Canadian Forces.  Every CF cook I know (and I know plenty) would die before allowing powdered eggs to come out of their kitchens!

He's on a weekend BMQ. Those tend to be catered by local companies vice CF Kitchens.

 

[Bluebulldog]

Where on earth did you find powdered eggs in the Canadian Forces.  Every CF cook I know (and I know plenty) would die before allowing powdered eggs to come out of their kitchens!

Yes. Unfortunately. Unlike the first QL2/3 that I was on in Pet in the mid 90's, the BMQ at the JFA in Hamilton is catered. Powdered eggs seem to be the order of the day for breakkie.

Actually RTG, I read your post, and almost wish I was on the same BMQ as you. Your menu sounds a little nicer that what we're choking back. But hey...as I said, I don't seem to be collapsing from lack of energy, and haven't puked yet...so all is well.

( But bacon?........mmmmmmmmmmmm.....bacon)

 

[Greymatters]

Just a little curious what the food options are for people on base. Do you have a chance to make your
So, do you guys (and gals) have access to plenty of fresh food options? What's it like day in, day out? I would think the military would be up to date with the conventional wisdom that a good diet begets the best performance out of active people. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! 

Theres been a lot of good responses to your initial query.  The thing you should bear in mind though is that you're not going to spend your entire career sitting at a CF base eating high quality foods prepared by skilled CF cooks. 

You will definately get your share of CF meals that include prepared packages (IMPs) you eat cold in the winter, to hot meals served from 'hayboxes' while youre standing in the rain out in a field somewhere.

Other times you are eating from fast food places because thats whats available, or being served by a third party hired by the CF whose food quality is usually pretty dismal.  At the high end you may be eating at a hotel or eating questionable quality of food provided by a company contracted by the CF in whatever country youre in. 

You'll also eat at the military messes of other countries where food quality isnt as good as ours, or the dishes are unusual, or eating at odd hours because you missed the main meal so you're stuck with leftovers at the cooling stand or instant soups. 

In the end, I advise you to be flexible in your thinking regarding food.

     

 

[Old Sweat]

I support every point Greymatters has made. In my career I have eaten some truly appalling crap and some stuff that tasted like it would not be out of place in a five star restaurant. My long suffering innards have been subjected to Brit, Italian, German, Norwegian and American rations over the years.

If there is one concept to firmly imbed in your mind, it is to never pass up a chance to eat or sleep. You don't know when the next opportunity will come along.

 

[Greymatters]

Ive tried the rations youve mentioned, and Australian field rations arent bad, but never had Norwegian - what are those like?

 

[Old Sweat]

Many years ago I was attached to the Field Artilley Battalion stationed in Setermoen (sp?) for a week to practice target grid procedures in the mountains. They took a liking to me and invited me to stay to come on a brigade FTX, so in all I spent three weeks or so with them.

The rations were challenging. Cold meat, cheese and hard biscuits and crackers for most of the meals, with usually one hot meal a day. A hot meal was either a thick soup - almost a stew - or delicacies like fish cakes (fiskcoke phonetically) or ground whale meat patties. The taste of the last almost turned me into a raving save the whales freak, if for no other reason than to make sure I never had to eat one again. Since the troops were all conscripts, and the length of the compulsory service was six months, the cooking would have been pretty basic even with our ration scale.

 

[X Royal]

When I was in Cyprus they had a policy of rotating the different cooks through the platoon house's. When at Maple House the cook scheduled to join us was a reserve cook. They basic thought was we were getting shortchanged. But when I questioned those who thought that way if they knew his background, no one did other than he was a reserve cook. I knew he had just spent the better part of a year cooking in remote BC logging camps. To me that meant he was a good cook at worst as he was still alive. Some camps have chartered helicopters to remove poor cooks before they came to harm.
He turned out to be an excellent cook.
Overall the CF cooks do a very good job.

 

[VIChris]

As bulldog is aware I am also currently on weekend BMQ in edmonton,  We get standard hot breakfasts every morning...bacon, hard boiled eggs, sausage, beans and potatoes.  Lunch is always a box lunch which reminds me of sandwiches i would pick up at a gas station, cheese veggie's etc (suffer through)  Dinner was minute steaks, green beans, potatoes, pasta and some kind of unidentifiable cream sauce with what reminded me of bacon bits in it.  All in all the food is 70/30 maybe 80-20 but who cares.  What your eating is not the point as blue eluded to.  Although i have yet to have them i understand field rations to be worse.  Be thankful for what you get and soldier on!! have fun with it.

RTG

Watch those sandwiches. If they're the same ones we got through the summer there, they have enough sodium to kill a moderate sized giraffe.

 

[readytogo]

My haybox breakfasts and dinners both come straight off the base....15 service batallion stamped all over them (I know this from cleanup duty) and ya so far the food has been pretty good save those damned box lunches  :-X  oh well, I cant imagine anyone ever died from CF box lunches.


RTG