HEIDELBERG, Germany -- The Army's top food service Soldiers and dining facilities were honored at the Installation Management Command-Europe and U.S. Army Europe 41st Annual Food Service Awards Ceremony at the Patrick Henry Village Pavilion here, Dec. 11.
Sgt. Quincy Queen, a food service specialist with the 72nd Signal Battalion, 5th Signal Command, was named Culinary Warrior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, while Pfc. Scotty Anderson of the 212th Combat Support Hospital earned the title of Culinary Warrior of the Year.
"The objective of the (Culinary Warrior of the Year) program is to recognize the excellence, professionalism and selfless service which is provided to our Soldiers and diners on a daily basis by our food service Soldiers across the command," said Col. Catherine Cutler, chief of sustainment operations for the USAREUR logistics directorate.
"The competition provides a tangible incentive for all assigned food service Soldiers and food operations NCOs to strive to attain."
Sgt. Michael Oglesby of the 212th was named runner-up in the Culinary Warrior NCO category, while Spc. Daryl Jordan of Headquarters, USAREUR was the Culinary Warrior runner-up.
The ceremony also recognized four dining facilities with Philip A. Connelly Awards for Excellence in Army Food Service. The Connelly award program, which evaluates Army dining facilities on food preparation, quality and customer approval, was established in 1968 and is the gold standard for culinary competitions, food service officials said.
The Connelly program is divided into three categories, but awards were given in only two categories for fiscal year 2008 -- large and small garrison dining facilities.
The 72nd Signal Battalion Dining Facility at Taylor Barracks in Mannheim, Germany was named the best small garrison dining facility. The CSM (Command Sgt. Maj.) Lawrence T. Hickey Dining Facility at Camp Normandy in Grafenwoehr, Germany won top honor as the best large garrison facility.
"The dining facilities of today provide the widest range of cuisine at the he highest level of quality," said Vivian McBride-Davis, chief of IMCOM-E's logistics division. "And the Soldier and civilian chefs that are present are clearly the cream of the crop and represent the best of what the Army has to offer."
The U.S. Army Garrison Hohenfels (Germany) dining facility finished as runner-up in the small garrison category, while the South of the Alps Dining Facility in Vicenza, Italy was runner-up in the large garrison category.
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