Air Force Cooks Get Lessons in Taking ‘Mess’ Out of Chow

Beetle Bailey-style mess halls are a thing of the past for Air Force cooks. Instead, they are getting pointers from civilian chefs.

This base in the Florida Panhandle is one of several that have made arrangements for their cooks to get on-the-job training at nearby restaurants.

In August, Eglin cooks began working for and learning from Omar Assem, executive chef at the Ramada Beach Resort in Fort Walton Beach. Each cook spends part of a six-week stay training at the resort hotel’s Garden Cafe, Lobster House restaurant, banquet rooms and management office.

Air Force officials say the results should improve morale, both for the cooks and their clientele.

“We are trying to get away from the mess hall, chow hall, Beetle Bailey kind of things,” said Lt. Col. Tom Kase, chief of Eglin’s Services Division.

Among other things, the Air Force cooks are learning to make food look, smell and taste more appealing, Kase said.

The idea, said Tony Pannelli, head of Eglin’s dining halls, is to get the troops to say, “Man, this is just like downtown.”

Pannelli said the cooks are learning such skills as ice carving, putting on luaus and buffets, creating exotic sauces and interesting salads--none of which are taught in military cooking schools.