Page 14 - gfs0917_Magazine

FOOD FOCUS: SANDWICHES AND SOUPS

Lunch-Pail

Favorites

Still Satisfy

Fort Hunter Liggett Delivers

What Its Customers Ask For

(PHOTOS BY AMY PHILLIPS, PUBLIC AFFAIRS
oldiers training at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hunter OFFICER, FORT HUNTER LIGGETT)
Liggett, Calif., are partial to traditions in the
Sdining facility, preferring sandwiches made with can help it.”
a combination of deli meats between two slices of SANDWICHES
bread over a more sumptuous hero and enjoying New Any expectation of
England clam chowder every Friday. hungry soldiers sinking their teeth into a hearty hero does
Every Friday, soldiers have a choice of New England clam not hold true at Fort Hunter Liggett. Instead, soldiers there
chowder or one other variety of soup that varies each week. prefer the traditional sandwich made by filling two or more
“Clam chowder’s the one they want,” said Ronald Raade, slices of bread with some combination of deli meats, includ-
food program manager at Fort Hunter Liggett. ing ham, turkey, chicken and cheeses.
In fact, Raade considers clam chowder on Fridays a din- “That’s what they ask for,” he said. “If they want a sand-
ing facility tradition that cannot be broken. “Friday’s usu- wich, it’s usually a cold-cut sandwich.”
ally clam chowder, that’s the mainstay, and the others are Raade has no plans to expand sandwich variety by add-
just variety: bean with bacon, tomato soup, potato soup, ing specialty panini and wrap sandwiches. “Our bowling
tortellini,” Raade said. “It’s just whatever is on the catalog; alley did panini sandwiches, or tried to do them, and they
it think there’s 20 varieties that we can go through.” just weren’t a go here,” he said. “We watched what they
Soups in the dining facility are self-serve, with crackers, were doing; it didn’t go over very well here.”
at a station located next to the salad bar, and both are in Sandwiches are made to order on the serving line dur-
an area separate from the main serving line. “Soup always ing lunch and dinner meal times, but soldiers can do a
goes well,” Raade said. “They go well every day; we have degree of customization by adding toppings available on
regular soup people.” the salad bar, including mustard, mayonnaise, onions, to-
Most are ready made, although the dining facility oc- matoes and cheese.
casionally prepares some from scratch. Culinary teams, fol- The dining facility gives soldiers three sliced-bread choices:
lowing approved Army recipe cards, prepare the homemade white, wheat and sourdough. Hero, or loaf, breads are only
soups using any leftovers that are available in sufficient available when the dining facility does a special meal.
quantities as ingredients to make what Raade calls “a pleas- Ingredients used to make sandwiches are available during
ant homemade soup.” breakfast, if requested; but the menu during the morning meal
Creativity is limited, but the opportunity exists to in- remains a traditional assortment of eggs and hash browns,
troduce some minor variation to the recipe. “They’re sup- etc. “We have English muffins and bagels available to build
posed to follow the recipe, but sometimes they may put a sandwich on; it’s just not something they do,” he said.
something different in,” he said. “You can change it from
a normal, burger-based soup into something Cajun like TEMPORARY SETUP
you’d use in a Cajun recipe.” Primarily a training facility, a majority of the service
Just like any other meal option available in the dining members coming into the Fort Hunter Liggett dining fa-
facility, soups are labeled according to the Go for Green cility are Army Reserve, but it also serves active-duty Air
three-color traffic-light code identifying foods that service Force, Navy and National Guard. Service members having
members should eat often, occasionally and rarely. “You meals in the dining facility are on a plan and have access
label it,” he said, “whether it’s a green soup, which is pretty to all of the options available upon entering. “They enter,
much a liquid-based soup, like tomato soup, all the way to they pay or they sign in, and it’s part of the line,” he said.
a heavy stew soup, which would be probably a red.” Customer traffic volume in the dining facility varies by
Sodium content is another dietary consideration, and season, but Raade said in August that the average for the
Raade is conscious to keep levels low and avoid adding salt last two months was 600 per meal.
as much as is possible. “You don’t want to add salt if you Raade sees soldiers choosing between sandwiches and
14 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • SEPTEMBER 2017