Show us yer meat...

[Corrona]

I heard on BFBS news the other day that the MOD have made some small fuss about having only bought British Pork during the last year.

What you ask, is the significance of this? Well it was of course couched in the 'look at us aren't we good buying British' sort of terms. I however suspect that it must have just so happened that during the past year British Pork was the cheapest on the world market. Why? well as a married accompanied overseas bloke most of my weekly shop comes through the local Military Ration Store (V. little civilian alternative), and what has been glaringly obvious during the time I have spent here has been the appaling chicken and beef FROM BRAZIL!! - bought for it's quality? I very much doubt it.

Which got me thinking. I wonder if the french military, buy c**p food from Brazil? Whilst I have no facts, I would imagine they make a fuss over only buying French...and if they do it must be nice for them to make such a fuss with their heads held high!

Appologies for those not too interested, but I feel somehow better for having got it off my chest.

[airborne_artist]

Used to get some amazing beef from Argentina before the wee fracas over the South Atlantic outposts - as good as Scotch beef, perhaps better!

Ask the legion expert on JetBlast (Farrell) about French military food :E

[Smudger552]

Seem to remember during my 13 months in the FI that the beef went from SA to UK to FI when there was perfectly serviceable beef (and sheep!) on the Island. Apparently an EU acredited abbatoir was needed before the MOD would buy the local produce........

Smudge

[Maple 01]

FI sheep have liver fluke or some such which might kill us all, so despite there being so much lamb/mutton they give it away the garrison flys in the stuff. Don't remember surplus cows though, FIBS did an article about a Benny that was trying to introduce a bunch of milk cows

(eee, we had to make our own entertainment in those days)

[snapper41]

Maple 01; If that's the standard of your spelling (garison? dairy heard?), I'd love to see your int briefs!

[BluntedAtBirth]

I am not sure the MOD has any influence on where it obtains food from as it all went out to contract a few years ago. You may have seen some big lorries with '3663' driving round your base/barracks/camp, this was the company that supplied fresh food world wide, including to op theatres, although someone else had just won the relet. Then of course there are the 'pay as you starve' contractors who do their own thing too...

[vecvechookattack]

Exactly. What ever you do...DON'T eat mutton from the FI. Those fellas are there for the wool only.

[diginagain]

Those fellas are there for the wool only.
You sure, vec? I heard they provided 'entertainment' to one Welsh infantry unit when they were in Goose Green.:}

[Maple 01]

snapper41, done in a hurry at work, with the Chief Super prowling, don't worry, retired int now......:O

[tablet_eraser]

How's this for food milage.

Fish landed at Peterhead.
Driven aaaaaaall the way to Spitalfields in London, where 3663 buy the cheapest.
Driven aaaaaaall the way back up to Peterhead for RAF Buchan.

Why, we asked, can't we buy local produce? It's more cost-effective, it's more nutritious, and it's better for the local economy.

Ooops... sorry, I'm confusing common-sense with contracts. Again.

[handysnaks]

I don't know whether it's changed much in the last 20 years, but the French Military food I experienced was pretty awful. At least they had beer and wine on tap though.

[Roadster280]

I believe the French problem is that they don't have a trade for cooks. Or if they do, it's only the "Master Chef" of the kitchen. The rest of the kitchen crew are dicked just like those on guard. This was certainly the case at Mostar in the mid 90s, where the other side of the "hotplate" was staffed by infantry types.

French compo is equally merde, BTW.

[buoy15]

Best pork comes from Israel and Saudi - bootiful!

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Yers'll never see Zim beef again....:(

[GlosMikeP]

Why, we asked, can't we buy local produce? It's more cost-effective, it's more nutritious, and it's better for the local economy.

Ooops... sorry, I'm confusing common-sense with contracts. Again.
The common sense and logic got bug:mad: ed up some time in the 70s when there was a big scandal with (I think) mess staff somewhere making a mint out of some sculduggerous acts. After that, all food had to be bought through NAAFI. Ludicrous though.

[TheBeeKeeper]

An Environmental Health Officer did an assessment of the PAYD at an RAF station in deepest darkest Bedfordshire.... to find that the 'mince' on offer (note I didn't call it 'Minced Beef') was actually imported from China, and mainly consisted of heart and soy....

Apologies to anyone who is reading this after having tucked into the rather dubious Chilli con Carne...

TBK

[airborne_artist]

GlosMikeP - I think you are referring to the Portsmouth catering scandal, when brown envelopes were being passed to the catering manager(s) by the local suppliers to keep/get contracts to supply the RN. Big local story at the time.

[Corrona]

I just wonder, with Jamie Oliver having supposedly sorted school meals, we should maybe get him to shame our lot into ammending their food purchasing/production policy!

[Scribbly dee]

I like Corrona am overseas and have to eat 'what we are given'. The thing is that over the last year I have eaten of the Brazilian beef and too be honest its pretty good.....same as the South American gammon.:D

Last Chrimbo we were offered all sorts of little extras including a frozen chicken or so. The chickens came from Britain but when they were defrosted it was quite obvious that they had died by drowning I think.:confused: When I put it in the oven it took twenty minutes for all the water to evaporate before it started cooking. The thing is that most of the chickens in the UK and Europe are pumped full of antibiotics. We rib a mate of mine whose dad has a chicken farm about his dad injecting them in the head with antibiotics and them being sixteen deep in a cage :eek: of course he denies it but I have had some experience of truck driving and have seen the drugs and supposed minerals that go in to chicken feed at the mill and it is pretty bad.

Still can't complain at least now the mad cow disease is under control I am alright noooooooooooow:}

[Scribbly dee]

I believe the French problem is that they don't have a trade for cooks. Or if they do, it's only the "Master Chef" of the kitchen. The rest of the kitchen crew are dicked just like those on guard.

Sounds just like ESS................:eek:

[Blacksheep]

I was one of Trenchard's Brats during the great typhoid outbreak of 1963 when tainted corned beef killed a bunch of pensioners in Scotland. Corned Beef then went for about a tanner a ton. (A 'tanner' would be 2 1/2 pence)

Guess what was the only meat we had for two months... :hmm:

A couple of years later I was implicated in the Great Waddington Food Mutiny. Its all about the ration allowance and making ends meet, you see. :(

[buoy15]

I was at St Athan in Flemingston Mess in 1962
Every morning the OO and Duty Cpl came to every table to ask if everything was OK
One morning a brand new Boy Entrant said " No Sir, my egg looks funny!"
The poor lad was told to stand up and laugh at it! - after which, the OO said "Sit down Bloggs, we were only yolking!"

Later on, during an evening meal,someone complained of string in his cabbage - a similar response was, "Don't tell everyone, they will all want some"

Ah! the good old days!