Page 16 - gfs0917_Magazine

FOOD FOCUS: SANDWICHES AND SOUPS

hot entrées at a rate that remains consistent year over year, which he attributes
to the age group on a training installation.
With an hour break for lunch, a sandwich is a quick option, and Raade
thinks that might contribute to the popularity of sandwiches in the dining
facility. “With it being a training facility, when they get time to go to the din-
ing facility, they want to sit down and eat,” he said.
Where dining facilities are on regular Army installations can result in a
long, inconvenient walk for soldiers coming from their work assignment; that
is not the case at a training location like Hunter Liggett. “Everything is within
walking distance,” he said.
A soldier’s age also shapes sandwich preferences with younger ones more
inclined to make leaner, green-labeled choices. “Younger soldiers have grown
up on Go for Green,” he said. “Older guys like burgers and fries, the younger
kids like turkey.”
Currently, the Fort Hunter Liggett dining facility is a temporary mobile,
trailer-based setup that has been used for a little over a year while the original
older building undergoes renovation and expansion. “We will be having a
naming review after we move over,” Raade said, adding that the current setup
is anonymous.
Renovation work is expected to be completed by October.
Until then, dining facility operations are spread over three kitchen trail-
ers and six dining-area trailers. “It’s all one location, and it all looks like one
trailer,” he said. “Once you’re inside, you don’t even know you’re in trailers.”
The kitchen trailers connect to each other with easy-open doorway access
between each section. One is dedicated to dry storage, a second is a wet area
for washing dishes and preparation, while the third in the front contains the
grills and ovens.
“It makes it a little harder, but it’s cooking and we have a nice kitchen,” he
said. “It’s not set up like it would be in a normal kitchen.”
The other six trailers are connected and combine to create a large, open
serving and dining area that can accommodate up to 315 diners at a time. It
is arranged in a traditional serving line setup plus the salad bar and soup area.
“It’s kind of getting old to be in there, as we watch the facility being made
ready across the way,” he said.

Training Program Gets Creative
Air Force culinary specialists are always eager for an opportunity to exercise a dash of creativity while
working to become more proficient at preparation and attain professional-level skills.
A group of 24 Air Force culinary personnel visiting Joint Base San Antonio in August from as far away as Japan
for scheduled training had an extracurricular opportunity to flex some creative muscle in sandwich creation.
Sysco Central Texas hosted the culinary specialists, challenging them to work on ideas that would upgrade
flight kitchen sandwich menus. Separate from the Air Force training program at Joint Base San Antonio, the
culinary specialists traveled to Sysco Central Texas and worked with its chefs, including Dustin Alexander,
Rebecca Dresch and Dan Killian, to create Sandwich Slam entries. Judges evaluated the entries while the
culinary specialists were taken on a tour
of the Sysco Central Texas warehouse.
“Every Sysco company does a version
of this for its commercial customers dur-
ing business reviews and menu ideation
sessions,” said Steve Corkery, Sysco’s
regional vice president of government
sales. “It’s good to get operators out
of their kitchen into ours. Allows their
creative juices to really flow in an envi-
ronment where there are no distractions.
Our customers love it. And so do we.”
Sysco Central Texas is a prime vendor
serving military installations in central
Texas under a contract with Defense
Logistics Agency Troop Support.
16 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • SEPTEMBER 2017