FINAL WORD
It was an opportunity to show my guys what they could achieve
Army Chefs Practice Petite Fours and Chocolate Making
Army chefs from the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion spent four days refining their fine dining pastry skills and showcased their bite sized petite fours and chocolates for leaders in the battalion .
For more than a year , British Army catering competitions were cancelled due to COVID restrictions , which halted the chance for young chefs to train and display their skills at the annual events . Staff Sergeant Chris Lambert , unit catering manager with the ARRC Support Battalion , seized an opportunity in the training schedule and budget to give the young chefs an opportunity to bake their hats off .
“ It was an opportunity to show my guys what they could achieve ,” said Lambert . “ It proved we could do it .”
The team purchased all the ingredients locally and spent two days measuring and weighing exact amounts of sweet ingredients as if they were in a science lab , to create
the artistic looking sweets , which included Turkish delights , French macaroons , chocolates and fruit pastries . On the final day , a small group of leaders from the battalions were invited at the Officers ’ Mess on Imjin Barracks to taste and provide feedback on the variety of petit fours .
“ I ’ m used to the chefs being extremely good at mass catering , at feeding soldiers in the field , but that kind of precision catering for things like petite fours are just not something they routinely get the chance to show off ,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ian Sands , the Commanding Officer for ARRC Support Battalion , “ It was extremely impressive to see they were able to turn the hand to something at the other end of the catering scale .”
Sands said he was especially a big fan of the macaroons and impressed by the delicate and fine skill the chefs displayed in the training opportunity .
“ It is absolutely the right thing to do , to diversify the kind of training we give our soldiers ,” he said . “ We do it with everyone else , and it ’ s great to see it with the chefs .”
During the tasting , the young chefs were able to talk to leaders , an opportunity Lance Corporal Lee Prince , a Royal Logistic Corps army chef , said was really good to see because everyone interacted around their final products .
“ Sweets are probably my best skill ,” Prince said . “ You don ’ t get to show off your skills of what you ’ re actually really good at and what you ’ re capable of doing .”
For Private Nayan Gurung , a Queen ’ s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment army chef , it was a new experience and said he was grateful for the experience that combined science and art to create an edible treat .
“ I had the theory experience , but not the practical experience ,” said Gurung . “ I ’ m very privileged and I ’ m very happy that I have this team … a teaching team looking after us . It ’ s a great opportunity as a Private .”
Lambert hadn ’ t practiced the petite four making skills in a long time , but said he had a great time with his soldiers .
“ It was quite nice for me to get into my whites and show some of the junior guys ; it keeps them interested ,” Lambert said . “ When they go to their new units , they can say ‘ you know , I know how to do this .’ Watching the junior chefs come straight out of training and develop , that certainly gives me a drive .”
30 SUMMER 2021 the imjin @ HQARRC Allied Rapid Reaction Corps