SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - For the Army's top chefs on Oahu, everyday leading up to mid-March brings a chance to improve and prepare.
Food service specialists working at the 45th Sustainment Brigade and 25th Infantry Division are training at the 8th Theater Sustainment Command Dining Facility at K-Quad here throughout February to prepare for upcoming Department of the Army and Department of Defense competitions.
The Soldiers will compete for the Phillip A. Connelly Award, March 10, here, and will participate in the Department of Defense Culinary Arts Competition, March 1-13, at Fort Lee, Va.
During the PAC judges will inspect the DFAC itself, and during the DoD competition, they will focus on the chefs' food preparation, service and presentation.
"One of the big things is sanitation, the cleanliness of the facility," said Master Sgt. Robin Propes, the brigade food service noncommissioned officer in charge for the 45th SB.
That involves keeping the floors swept and mopped throughout the day, cleaning dirty dishes used by both the diners and cooks and wiping down all tables.
With a true train as they fight mentality, he said, "they're practicing a meal every Tuesday because our competition that we are actually getting judged on is March 10, which is a Tuesday. So every Tuesday, they come in and they prepare that day's meals from start to finish."
While training for the PAC Award, the cooks still perform their daily duties serving Soldiers meals and maintaining the cleanliness of the DFAC.
"It's really an inspection on our daily duties," said Staff Sgt. Ashley Leiva, the shift leader for Sustainment Bistro, 25th Transportation Company, 524th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 45th SB. "We're supposed to be giving good, quality food every day."
As shift leader, he manages the chefs and the meals in the DFAC.
"I oversee everything in the kitchen," Leiva said. "Everyone inside the kitchen, so I have to make sure everyone is here, make sure that everyone has something to do, that there's no time being wasted."
Propes said there will be approximately 30 Soldiers involved in the PAC from the cooks themselves to the administrative personnel and the ration section that controls the inventory.
Leiva said that competing in and winning these competitions is and will be an honor for U.S. Army Pacific, U.S. Pacific Command, and Army food service specialists as a whole.
Propes said, "Everybody's motivated; we all have our eyes on the prize and hope that we win."
The team said the preparation for the PAC inherently helps their members prepare for the DoD competition later in March.
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