If, as Napoleon once said, 'An army marches on its stomach,' Malta's security is in good hands.
The AFM reported today that its chefs won silver and bronze awards in the military chefs section of the Malta Kulinarja 2011 contest earlier this month.
Chefs from the US Navy won gold.
The week-long event was organized by the Malta Chefs Society and the military section included chefs from several countries.
Commenting on the awards, the Commanding Officer 4 Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Mario Spiteri said that "undoubtedly, the AFM chefs' performance was salted with stress and peppered with passion, that is the path of the professional chef. The competition surely allows these soldiers to learn and evolve. And that, over time, defines the true difference between a 'chef' and a 'cook'.
Three Chefs from 4 Regiment's Catering Company participated - Lance Bombardier Antonello Vidal and Lance Bombardier Tristan Gauci competed as Chefs, accompanied by Lance Bombardier Alfio Micallef as Commis Chef.
The Regiment's Catering Company commander, Lieutenant Sharon Bellizzi, added that "Some might wrongly think that there are no chefs in the military. The majority of military food service members are chefs, or they are on the path to becoming one. Our men are resourceful, knowledgeable in mass quantity food production, clean and sanitary in the worst environments during military operations (on land or at sea), they understand pressure and the "hurry up and wait" kitchen battle-cry, they know how to work with vendors, can load stores better than anyone, and are extremely organized. As soldiers, we thrive in these positions. Knowing the basics of cooking and our other skills only reduces the gap between a military cook and non-restaurant chefs, to a mere small adjustment to a finer cooking style."
The AFM participants showed their individual capabilities in cooking a main course for four people within 80 minutes, and competed head to head with US Navy Chefs. The Maltese team prepared chicken and tuna based dishes. Lance Bombardiers Gauci and Vidal won Silver and Bronze awards respectively.