BEHIND THE FRONT LINES
Inside discussions with culinary mavericks in America’s military
By Amelia Levin - ACF National Culinary Review Magazine
he ACF has enjoyed a decades-long partnership with the U.S. military dating back to the 1970s. T The ACF's current President Rene Marquis is the first veteran to hold this role. “The late Lt. General John D. McLaughlin did so much for military chefs; he paved the way with the help of the ACF to bring culinary arts to the forefront and make ours a profession of true talent rather than one of servants,” says ACF National President Chef René Marquis, CEC, CCE, CCA, AAC , a retired 21-year U.S. Army veteran, former enlisted aide for three- and four-star generals and decorated military chef competitor who served through 15 deployments in 57 countries. “Even today the schoolhouse at Fort Gregg-Adams is called the McLaughlin Building.” Chef Marquis adds that the military’s partnership with the ACF brings credibility to armed forces foodservice and serves as the backbone for culinary instruction and certification of members of the armed forces. Each branch maintains its own methods for training cooks and culinarians depending on the nature of the service. But, once a year in the spring, the branches come together to compete against each other in the Joint Culinary Training Exercise, the largest military competition in the country held at Fort Gregg-Adams in Virginia (see Sidebar). Leaders from that competition are often chosen to be part of the U.S. Army Culinary Arts Team (USACAT) that competes in the IKA/Culinary Olympics every four years. “The enthusiasm and dedication of military culinarians is inspiring,” says retired Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Phillips, chair of the ACF Military Task Force created last year and a retired, 36-year veteran of the U.S. Army currently serving as president of the nonprofit Reserve Organization of America. “Providing quality food to our troops directly contributes to military
readiness, and one of my prime interests is enhancing an understanding of that value among senior military leaders.” Phillips says his main goal as the ACF Military Task Force chair is to continue to get the word out about ACF certifications among members of the military and also facilitate ACF civilian and military member visits to bases and installations to help train and teach future culinarians. We caught up with some of those ACF military chefs to hear their stories about life on the front lines — and in the kitchen. ACF Chef Guy Winks, CEC , also serves on the ACF Military Task Force; he is a retired military chef of 25 years. As a chef for the U.S. Special Forces (Green Berets), he has jumped out of airplanes, climbed mountains and scuba dived in sub-zero waters. As a former U.S. Army enlisted aide, he has also cooked fine dining meals for high-ranking generals in the U.S. Army. THE LIFE OF A GREEN BERET CHEF
Most recently, Chef Winks, a longtime competitor whose team won the 2008 Installation of the Year at the JCTE, has served as a culinary instructor at the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence at Fort Gregg- Adams.
HOSPITALITY NEWS MAY | Page 9
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