Feeding the Forces on food's front line
15 Aug 07
It's a fact that an army marches on its stomach. Thankfully the selection of dishes on the menu for British troops deployed in Afghanistan tonight is enough to make your mouth water. Report by Roy Bacon and Gail Stephens.
Soldiers deployed in Afghanistan can choose from a wide range of menu options in the dining halls at main operating bases
[Picture: Andrew Linnett]
Food is understandably a high priority for all UK military personnel working as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force in southern Afghanistan.
At the main bases in Helmand, Camp Bastion and Lashkar Gah,a full daily menu selection is available – main camps get fresh rations, everything from cooked breakfasts, porridge, cereals, fruit, yoghurts, toast and jams, and between five and seven hot choices at lunchtime. These include meatballs, pasta, chips, omelettes, hot baguettes, baked potato and soup, as well as filled rolls and a wide variety of salads, fresh fruit and yoghurts.
At Lashkar Gah, where they spend £15,000 a week on catering which buys more than just the basics, six or seven meal choices are on offer per evening finished off by puddings and pastries galore. Chefs prepare meals which provide variety and choice, often running themed nights such as curry, chip shop or kebab nights.
A selection of food is available for UK forces in Afghanistan
[Picture: Andrew Linnett]
Tonight (15 August 2007) Lashkar Gah it's 'Chinese' night. The menu includes chicken and sweetcorn soup, chicken curry, beef and black bean sauce, sweet and sour turkey, schezchuan pork and noodles, Thai style salmon and pak choi, rice (egg-fried and boiled), chow mein, stir fried vegetables, prawn crackers, curry sauce and chips.
For those who don't fancy Chinese they can choose from steak garni, chicken and mushroom pie, compo carbonara, jacket potatoes, peas and gravy.
Commenting on the food at Lashkar Gah Sergeant Wayne Addy said:
"We're very lucky here at Lashkar Gah. The chefs are the unsung heroes. They prove that you can cook quality and quantity. The food is good here and there are lots of fresh rations."
Signaller Paul Shaw said:
"The food we get here is much better than the food I get back in England. It's always better on tour. I'm perfectly happy with the food."
"The Yorkshire puddings aren't quite as good as my Mum's, but the food is not bad for an operational environment."
Corporal 'Jackie' Charlton
A roast on Sunday is something many of the troops at Lashkar Gah look forward to. Every variation of roast dinner imaginable is available accompanied by delicious Yorkshire puddings, 'pigs in blankets', stuffing and various sauces and condiments.
As they enter the mess tent at lunchtime eager diners are faced with a line-up of chefs, each one behind a different roast joint. "Beef, lamb or pork, sir?"
The kitchens at 'Lash' feed 700 to 850 hungry soldiers a day – and more when there's a roulement going on. There are four meals and five hot choices every day, a pasta bar, soup, fresh bread (courtesy of the unit's dedicated pastry chef), a salad bar, and a baguette bar.
As well as putting on special theme nights the chefs provide food boxes for those on guard duty in the sangars – although the kitchen is open 24/7 for drinks and snacks:
Fresh bread is baked daily at Lashgar Gah
[Picture: Cpl Jon Bevan RLC]
"It's all about morale," said Sergeant Scottie Taylor, Lashkar Gah's Rations NCO. "Having a good evening meal to look forward to makes all the difference."
Meanwhile the soldiers deployed at the more remote forward operating bases are given 24-hour operational ration packs on a daily basis. As there are no fridges or deep freezes fresh rations perish very quickly in the heat. Ration packs, which come in boxes of 10 mixed menus, are supplemented with long life milk and cereal.
In places such as Sangin, Now Zad and Kajaki, a chef will prepare a cooked breakfast and evening meal for the soldiers every other day from a ten-man ration pack. This is on top of their 24-hour operational ration pack.
Ration pack menus vary but breakfast choices include hamburger and beans, corned beef hash, sausage and beans meatballs and pasta in tomato sauce. Main meals can be anything from chicken and mushroom pasta to beef stew and dumplings and even Lancashire hotpot.
UK forces in Afghanistan include a pastry chef
[Picture: Cpl Jon Bevan RLC]
For dessert troops can find thermselves eating treacle pudding, fruit dumplings in custard or chocolate pudding. Menus suitable for vegetarians, sikhs and kosher and halal variations are available.
Fresh bread is baked on improvised clay ovens. Ration packs are cooked on open fires and noodles, or sauces are used to add variety and spice them up.
Corporal 'Jackie' Charlton said of the food at the kitchens:
"The Yorkshire puddings aren't quite as good as my Mum's but the food is not bad for an operational environment. Lasagne is my favourite and there are lots of sweets and pastries."