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MILITARY CULINARY AWARDS

AWARDS DINNER to have the highest standards
The installation Hennessy of professionalism, attitude and
awards will be presented Friday HENNESSY TRAVELERS culinary skill.
evening, May 19, in Chicago, ASSOCIATION EVALUATORS Each Hennessy Travelers
Ill., at the annual Military Food Association nominee receives a
Service Awards Dinner dur- continuing education scholar-
ing the National Restaurant AIR FORCE ship to receive unique training at
Association Hotel and Motel Chief Master Sgt. Dan Kelly the annual Armed Forces Forum
Bill Spencer, AFSVA
Show. The dinner is 6 p.m. to Senior Master Sgt. Tashon Taylor for Culinary Excellence at the
9 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Culinary Institute of America’s
in Chicago. NRA Greystone campus in Califor-
Along with the Air Force Peter Christie, veteran restaurateur and retired nia. The forum is courtesy of
Hennessy and Air National president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant the NRA.
Guard Disney awards, other Association
military food service teams be- Jay Marshall, executive chef, Sysco, San Francisco PROFESSIONAL INTERAC-
ing recognized at the dinner David Richmond, chef, Sodexo TION
are the Navy (Capt. Edward Harold Ritchie, Ritchie International Group Now, after 61 years, the Hen-
F. Ney, SC, USN, Memorial Mike Sabella, president, Food Safety Certified nessy program remains targeted
Jim Sellers, restaurateur
Awards), Army (Philip A. Con- on the goal of promoting food
nelly Awards), Marine Corps service excellence. It enables hos-
(Maj. Gen. William Pendle- pitality industry peers to interact
ton Thompson Hill Memorial with and exchange suggestions
Awards) and Military Sealift Command (Capt. David M. with the armed forces culinary team members.
Cook Awards). The interaction brings recognition to Air Force Food
Award presentation is the highlight of a three-day train- Service from respected hospitality industry peers of the
ing and education program that military culinary specialists training and commitment required to achieve culinary
from all the service branches participate in as part of the excellence, as well as the contribution to boosting morale.
annual NRA Show. It includes education sessions, discus- Military culinary team members, meanwhile, gain ex-
sions with industry professionals and a tour of the NRA pertise while working under the observation of the Hen-
exhibit floor. (See the NRA Preview on page 8.) nessy evaluators, industry and military, as well as insight
and motivation about professional civilian career paths to
HISTORY follow after completing their terms of service.
Established in 1956, the Hennessy Awards program Planning for the Hennessy program dates back to 1953,
promotes excellence in customer service and food service when President Eisenhower established the second Hoover
support within the Air Force. Food service operations are Commission to study ways to improve the efficiency of
under the direction of the AFSVA. government agencies. John L. Hennessy was a hotel and
It was named after hotel and restaurant executive who restaurant executive who served on a special task group
led a special Hoover Commission Task Group to improve within the Hoover Commission.
military food service. One of the government agencies being studied was the
Recognition given to outstanding dining facility operations Department of Defense, and Hennessy was part of a task
and management through the Hennessy award promotes group focused on making improvements to troop feeding
excellence in customer service and food quality; inspires and commissary programs (principally, the troop issue ele-
high morale and motivation to perform to the highest stan- ment as opposed to the retail stores).
dard; mission support and a professional image through
pride and spirited competition, as recognized by industry AFGSC BEST MISSILE FEEDING OPERATION
peers; and improves management concepts and practices
through industry partner feedback and recommendations. ***WINNER***
Food service team winners were selected in four categories F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., 90th Missile Wing, AFGSC
for the 2017 Hennessy awards: Region 1 (East), Region 2
(West), U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE) Food Service Small
Site and Air Force Global Strike Command Best Missile
Feeding Operation.
The Award of Excellence, meanwhile, recognizes indi-
vidual culinary achievement. While working in Region 1
and 2, the evaluation teams also keep an eye out for out-
standing culinary specialists and then nominate them for
the Award of Excellence.
An overall winner selected from this group is judged
32 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • MAY 2017