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814man
20th Jun 2011, 12:41
Having been out a few years now I'm not going to comment on this other than to reflect that my 4 months in Aviano back in 1995 were some of the most enjoyable times of my 22 years service for many reasons including the great food. I'm sure current ops must be very different to life in Pordenone back then.
This is Scunthorpe | Troops served decayed food during military action (http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/Troops-served-decayed-food-military-action/story-12801746-detail/story.html)

Mr Percy said: "My constituent's son had complained about being served rotten oranges.

"He also said the diet was very unvaried and consisted mainly of pasta, as a result of which family members had been sending out food parcels to supplement his diet.

Would anyone who has been there care to update or comment on this?

Trim Stab
20th Jun 2011, 13:04
He also said there was a lack of computers in order to facilitate contact with their families back home


DREADFUL! How can the poor lambs possibly survive without a computer!!!! Things sound really bad out there....

The Helpful Stacker
20th Jun 2011, 13:05
How about that eh? The food available locally in Italy is mainly pasta.

:ugh:

althenick
20th Jun 2011, 13:16
He'll be complaining that the local's dont speak english next... :ugh:

engineer(retard)
20th Jun 2011, 13:18
I suspect that they were in a conscripts mess. I have eaten in a few, including Norway and France. In the long term I would have starved to death because they were gopping :yuk:

glad rag
20th Jun 2011, 13:31
Actually having "served" some 6 months @ that particular locale during the Bosnian upset I can concur that your diet "on the whole" can be quite limited, in our case the field kitchens (sorry chef forgot the proper title) for our 1 full meal per shift at the airfield was a welcome relief.
Despite taking a month or so to gain the acquired "taste" for the local Adriatic sea foods [starting at half raw and work backwards] there's only so many ways you can eat/look at cephalopods/molluscs before the novelty wears off.
After some months we found a kind of restaurant, up on the Puglian escarpment, that actually had PORK CHOPS on the menu. :ok:
Unfortunately some idiot blabbed about it and next down period we arrived back there only to find the majority of RAF GdeC's minibus fleet parked up outside, and a sudden lack of the usual feral dogs for some reason :E ho hum ..

Pontius Navigator
20th Jun 2011, 13:49
The availability of pizza, pasta, and peperoni was the reason why many on the E3D detatchment at Aviano had to buy BMWs to carry their per diem in.

In 1993, unrelated to the Bosnia ops, I had to survive on a mere £150 per day with hotac paid separately as actuals.

By heck it were rough in them days.

PS,

I were only there a week and the per diem had to pay Mrs PN's air ticket (one day's per diem) and the salads and wine while I were 'working'.

PPRuNeUser0139
20th Jun 2011, 13:51
glad rag - that was GdeC down south you're referring to..
Up in Friuli where we were, we ate like kings. Read somewhere once that there were ~70 restaurants in Pordenone. And when the thrill of those wore off, there was the surrounding countryside to ravage oops, explore.
For example, the restaurant overlooking Aviano halfway up the mountain at Mezzomonte; Ristorante Zaia at Polcenigo.. and Il Refugio..

glad rag
20th Jun 2011, 16:59
All I can offer is thank heavens for USAF San Vito...Oh hang on.....:(

jamesdevice
20th Jun 2011, 17:59
If conditions are that bad then I guess they'll just have to go out, get drunk and drown their sorrows
if they time it right they'll get caught by the carabinieri and sent home....

obnoxio f*ckwit
20th Jun 2011, 18:34
Poor conditions in Italy


You're not wrong. Went to Lake Como at the weekend with the missus and it pissed down.

thefodfather
20th Jun 2011, 19:27
I'm just amazed that this thread's been going this long without a mate from the Kipper fleet extolling the virtues of the Sig Inn. That must have taken a lot of willpower from some people.

Lonewolf_50
20th Jun 2011, 20:21
814man:

FWIW, cuisine between North and South Italy varies considerably, and in Italy I noted that one mostly got the regional dish preferences. Maybe things have changed since I was there over a decade ago. But I doubt it, habits there, culinary wise, don't seem to change swiftly.

Two points, all mollusks considered ...

More meat, more shots at beef, and more butter up north.

More olive oil, more seafood down south, less beef, but better Veg.

Pasta is of course ubiquitous.

But it all beats MRE's. :8

JagMate
20th Jun 2011, 21:48
As a Brit who served with the ITAF for a number of years, my experience is somewhat at odds with the original post. The Italians care about their food, sometimes at the expense of other priorities. I've dined at many conscript /sotto ufficiale messes around the country and have always been served a plentiful and healthy meal. True, if you don't like pasta then you'll be one course down on the next man. But even without the 'primo piatto' (pasta dish) the rest of the ensemble (meat dish with a veg side-dish, bread & fruit) is as good (but different) to Brit military grub.
If you're eating out, then the country has some fantastic cuisine to offer in both the North and South. The real difference is that quality is across the board. Even the most modest (and cheap) restaurants serve good quality food.
I can see how an airman thrown into this situation may find the cultural dislocation a little tricky at first, but a few months without curry or fish 'n chips will make them taste all the better on return.

INT ZKJ
20th Jun 2011, 22:23
THEFODFATHER

"REF Kipper mates"

As I understand things there are a fair few NCA (Kipper and otherwise) who are facing redundancy supporting the effort in the Op area.

Perhaps I misunderstood the slant of your post.

If not

"metterla dove il sole non splende"

Ciao, from one who is not in a fancy fast jet hotel

thefodfather
21st Jun 2011, 06:50
INT ZKJ

I think you must have misunderstood the slant of my post. I was merely referring to my experience that on every visit I ever made to Kinloss, I never saw an evening pass without hearing at least one conversation that started with the phrase "When I was in the Sig Inn". Although I do have to own up to being slightly jealous that my time at Sigonella as a techie was spent living in the prison compund at Motta, although the amount of rates we got did slightly make up for it.

There was no intention to upset or otherwise cause offence, merely a bit of hopefully harmless banter.

INT ZKJ
21st Jun 2011, 07:09
THEFODFATHER

Sorry for going off on one! Just a bit T & E from being out here on Dave's North African, SDSR justification, political adventure!

I only stayed in Mota the once, with the rest of my det's there down town and you are so right when you say about the allowances making up for a lot of things.

Cheers

ZKJ

thefodfather
21st Jun 2011, 07:23
INT ZKJ

No worries, have a safe det. Thankfully, 2 months into life in civvy street mean such adventures are behind me now. Sig was my first taste of life on det, sadly in the modern air force such fun is seldom found anymore.

sharpend
21st Jun 2011, 07:36
I was the Detachment Commander at Ancona during the Bosnian conflict, We all lived in a glorious hotel next the the Adriatic and had simply a wonderful time! Food? It was great. The only downside was that I put on 5 kilos :ok:

Wensleydale
21st Jun 2011, 08:07
the restaurant overlooking Aviano halfway up the mountain at Mezzomonte; Ristorante Zaia at Polcenigo.. and Il Refugio..

SV, You forgot the Hotel Spia in Montereale! Happy memories of the Sunday Lunchtime Cruise in the mountains to find a new place to eat - including one that couldn't give us a menu because it depended upon what they had managed to shoot that day.

Sadly, these trips became less and less as:

a. Allowances were cut and cut as we went to pizzaria rates from restaurant rates.

b. vehicle milage restrictions were added and added.

It was all so different from my first experience in Italy (Sicily) where we were restricted to base (no transport) and had to eat in the messes. Pasta for lunch followed by the same pasta dish but cold for dinner. I can imagine which system is being used for the serviceman in the article.

Whenurhappy
21st Jun 2011, 09:41
Unfortunately this alleged report does make us sound a bit precious! Having done 2 tours in italy, and sending a lot of time travelling through the country, the food is generally great, Rome notwithstanding. I've dined in both officers' and conscripts messes (however conscription stopped about 7 years ago) and the food is good and cheap - but not 'British' with red meat 'rare'. I am writing this whilst attending a conference about Libya, in Italy. I've never seen Italian troops suffering from malnutrition; indeed the equivalent Italian cohort I wager is leaner and healthier than the Brits (just look at UK's position in WHO obesity stats)

Again, this report does not reflect well on some of our personnel of our modern expeditionary RAF.

The Helpful Stacker
21st Jun 2011, 10:26
Again, this report does not reflect well on some of our personnel of our modern expeditionary RAF.

But to be honest, whinging from personnel in Italy is not something new. Such grumbling by our light blue brethren was heard from as far away a Gornji Vakuf by the less pampered elements of the RAF.

They certainly earned their NATO gongs the hard way, those folk in Italy.

airborne_artist
21st Jun 2011, 11:54
The rotten food was in fact some oranges - hardly meat with maggots crawling out, which is the mental image conjured up by the headline.

I've eaten in NCO's and JR's messes in most European countries, and a few further away. Apart from sliced cheese and meats for breakfast in a German mess I can't think of anything I that wasn't very welcome, but I guess when you've just come back from a week humping a bergen and sleeping under one of HM's finest bashas, anything that's edible is an improvement over compo/MRE.

oldgrubber
22nd Jun 2011, 08:53
Looks like the poor dears might not need to worry much longer. Soon be home with their mum/wife/husband/steward wiping their noses again!

BBC News - Libya conflict: Italy urges Nato to suspend hostilities (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13872674)


Cheers now

taxydual
22nd Jun 2011, 09:18
I think a major point is being missed in all this 'poor diddums' reaction.

Someone has to pay for this food. I imagine the UK taxpayer.

I recall in the early '80's overhearing one of the fruit and veg suppliers to RAF Leeming bragging in Exelby pub about how he used to dispose of all his out of date / passed sell by date / semi rotten goods to the 3 messes at full market rates.

A quiet word in OC Caterings shell-like stopped that practice dead.

ZH875
22nd Jun 2011, 09:34
I was the Detachment Commander at Ancona during the Bosnian conflict, We all lived in a glorious hotel next the the Adriatic and had simply a wonderful time! Food? It was great. The only downside was that I put on 5 kilos :ok:

Except when the groundcrew were kicked out to make more room, and they were put in the other hotel owned by the first, and then moved back again when rooms were plentiful.

Good hotel, good food, good bar and good times.:ok:

theuglyfendoff
23rd Jun 2011, 05:12
That particular person must have been looking very hard to find food that is not of good quality in Italy. The pasta, pizza, meat, veg and fruit are all excellent plus the locals are very friendly and helpful. Of particular mention is the superb grub served up by the Mobile Catering and Support Unit who supplement the host nation food and arrived a few weeks ago.

There are a few slightly more important military/political issues out there at the moment that demand a great deal more prune space than this subject...

Mothballed
23rd Jun 2011, 08:21
Spent lots of time in GdeC with Harrier. Never had any problems with finding good stuff to eat. The meals provided on base were more than adequate with the catering staff getting lots of provisions fresh locally.

BEagle
23rd Jun 2011, 08:45
The Italian food at Deci', whether at Enrico's or at the Quadranazionale, was generally pretty good. As it was at the German mess.

However, virtually our whole ACMI detachment went down with gastroenteritis after some grubby RAF cook infected everyone who'd eaten breakfast at the RAF mess. Fortunately health and safety and food hygiene have come into being since those days.

As for 'food fraud' - I recall a case many years ago (I think it involved one of the first of the Navy's Fleet CPOs) where rubbish was being served and high prices paid, with the criminals skimming the profits.

davejb
23rd Jun 2011, 17:15
Beagle is doubtless referring to the scandalous procedure whereby Pursers were allowed to charge/supply at 14 oz to the pound, and the rations ('Salt horse and hard tack, dried peas') could have spent years in barrels travelling between stations.

Still, enough about 1805....

I suspect the original complainant was trying it on a bit, a rotten orange is hardly the pits, but perhaps some of the replies ("nonsense, there's a perfectly respectable restaurant in the hills, 2 Michelin stars and they do surprising things with local truffles in season...") aere a bit off base for what the average SAC encounters <g>

BEagle
23rd Jun 2011, 18:55
Nope, it was around 1970-74 when the infamous 'food fraud' case cropped up. Some thieving git was billing the MoD for good quality meat and buying bits of old horse or something from the local villain. Between them they split the profit.

Eventually some Officer of the Day actually bothered to check up on the 'whingeing oiks :p' who'd been complaining about their food - and found that they certainly did have a case. After some investigation, the fraudulent SNCO was arrested and court martialled.

I think that's what might have led to the archaic rule about NCOs being entrusted with Public Funds?

N Joe
23rd Jun 2011, 19:54
Nobody seems to answered the burning questions that I remember from Svevo life:

Has it got a pool yet?

And have they fixed the big hole in the astro-turf?

N Joe

downsizer
23rd Jun 2011, 20:32
Come on, the Svevo was a dump!

Chicken Leg
24th Jun 2011, 04:41
This clown should be embarrassed that he cried to his father. His father should be embarrassed that he spoke to his MP and his MP should be embarrassed for bringing it up in the House.

It sounds to me, that some classless norvern munkey is simply having a few problems adapting to having to eat forin muck! Poor little bear. Let's hope he comes home safe and sound, from that horrendous war zone that is Southern Italy.

Gaz ED
24th Jun 2011, 06:51
There's only one cnut in Scnuthorpe.............

I'm not rising to the classless northern munky jibe, you shandy drinking southern get!

Chicken Leg
24th Jun 2011, 07:47
I'm not rising to the classless northern munky jibe, you shandy drinking southern get!

And nor should you.

The amusing this is, you can imagine that this chap is struggling to adapt to foreign food and would much rather some good old English grub, like a pizza or a kebab! Perhaps a good old English curry would go down well??!!

BEagle
24th Jun 2011, 08:08
Some people adapt to 'foreign' food more readily than others!

Some years ago, when the Vickers FunBus used to visit Palermo quite regularly, one of the navigators ('Chuckles' - a real misery) decided that we should have a 'crew' meal with the groundcrew in a local seafood restaurant in Yes-Mondello. I suggested that perhaps they might not be too keen on the idea.

But Chuckles told me I was underestimating the groundcrew and would not be swayed. So, when the restaurant finally opened at around 2000, in we all trooped. Various wriggling things with tentacles, spiny shells, bones and fins were proffered in front of our reluctant diners; they were obviously less than enthusiastic but stuck with it. It also cost us a fortune.

The GE later told me that they'd far sooner have had a quick pizza or a 'bit of cow and chips' rather than weird Mediterranean sea monsters and pasta - I apologised and told him that, as a mere co-pilot, no-one had listened when I'd queried the suggestion. Next time we did our own thing - our Air Eng refused to have anything to do with seafood or pasta, so we found somewhere where he could get stuck in to his beloved "steak wiv' champi-nons and chips" as he termed it - whereas the groundcrew lads happily piled in to the excellent pizzeria nearby.

In flight rats were a good deal on the way home though - everyone was given an appropriate allowance (because the 'official' caterers had given another crew a nasty dose of the Palermo two-steps on a previous occasion); most then bought a donkey cock sandwich from the little shop next to the Arsolini. The hotel's water supply would often be turned off overnight, so everyone also had a water allowance. Those with any nous filled up an old Lambrusco bottle from the tap before the water went off - others actually went out and bought bottled water...:rolleyes:

And everyone agreed that the Italians simply cannot make a good 'spag bol' in the true British manner!

larssnowpharter
24th Jun 2011, 11:18
And everyone agreed that the Italians simply cannot make a good 'spag bol' in the true British manner!

Very true, thank God!

In fact the Italians don't know what a 'Spaghetti Bolognese' is! And they do find those cans of spaghetti so loved by Brits very strange.

Lived 5 yrs in Puglia and cannot think of a time I got a bad meal.

Gaz ED
24th Jun 2011, 11:54
Beagle,

What a load of commoners VC10 groundcrew were/are.

Most groundcrew I know would eat anything - absolutely anything..............

BEagle
24th Jun 2011, 12:07
Strange spiny things waving their tentacles about were too much even for our groundcrew to stomach!