Best and Worst Food
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Best and Worst Food
What is the best and the worst food you have ever eaten at an air force managed or air force related catering facility of any kind.
For me the best would be the trout we had for lunch at 280 SU on Mt Olympus on the day the Command Catering Officer was doing his pre-AOC's inspection. Closely followed by the scotch pies and baked beans served at 4 a.m. at Leuchars during TACEVAL.
The worst - Brown Windsor soup in the studes mess at Cranwell.
I kind of hope to get some input from non-British PPruners on this one.
Rgds SOS
For me the best would be the trout we had for lunch at 280 SU on Mt Olympus on the day the Command Catering Officer was doing his pre-AOC's inspection. Closely followed by the scotch pies and baked beans served at 4 a.m. at Leuchars during TACEVAL.
The worst - Brown Windsor soup in the studes mess at Cranwell.
I kind of hope to get some input from non-British PPruners on this one.
Rgds SOS
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
The worst is easy:
Steak and Kidney pudding with rhubarb sauce.
It was in the No 2 mess at South Cerney. The food was all laid out and we queued to be served. To a goodly helping of S&K the cooks ladled out the rhubarb sauce.
Someone had mixed up the jugs.
The best?
Most of the meals in the aircrew feeder at Cottesmore.
Steak and Kidney pudding with rhubarb sauce.
It was in the No 2 mess at South Cerney. The food was all laid out and we queued to be served. To a goodly helping of S&K the cooks ladled out the rhubarb sauce.
Someone had mixed up the jugs.
The best?
Most of the meals in the aircrew feeder at Cottesmore.
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I remember the grub at Oerland was pretty good, as indeed was the accomodation. Under floor heating and the biggest room I ever stayed in.
Most stand out memory for me was walking into the Airmen's Mess at Coningsby one day during the hot summer of '76. There was an outstanding display of salmon and various other cold goodies on a set of tables that the chefs had set aside, it was a really stunning sight and they had obviously pulled out the stops. I wrote a memo to the mess WO to pass on my thanks to his team. Oddly enough a couple of years later I courted his daughter.
Edit: just remembered Watton where I was billeted while on the Bucc Q course at Honington. In the morning the chef used to ask us what we wanted for dinner. There must have been all of 15 of us living in there. Quite excellent. Also Belize, we actually lived on the dispersals in portacabins, not as bad as it sounds as it was away from the pongo main camp and air conditioned. Each dispersal of around 8 guys had it's own cook. That was pretty good too.
Can't really say I had any bad food experiences in the RAF. Other than the appaling white box of despair on trooping flights.
Most stand out memory for me was walking into the Airmen's Mess at Coningsby one day during the hot summer of '76. There was an outstanding display of salmon and various other cold goodies on a set of tables that the chefs had set aside, it was a really stunning sight and they had obviously pulled out the stops. I wrote a memo to the mess WO to pass on my thanks to his team. Oddly enough a couple of years later I courted his daughter.
Edit: just remembered Watton where I was billeted while on the Bucc Q course at Honington. In the morning the chef used to ask us what we wanted for dinner. There must have been all of 15 of us living in there. Quite excellent. Also Belize, we actually lived on the dispersals in portacabins, not as bad as it sounds as it was away from the pongo main camp and air conditioned. Each dispersal of around 8 guys had it's own cook. That was pretty good too.
Can't really say I had any bad food experiences in the RAF. Other than the appaling white box of despair on trooping flights.
Last edited by thing; 25th Aug 2013 at 21:26.
The finest food I ever sampled was the "Full English" in the crew feeder at Akrotiri during GW1. It's hard to describe how good a taste of home gets to you when you haven't seen wife, kids or country for three months. The worst was also the crew feeder Akrotiri, on my way back from a route to Malaysia. Long story, so won't diverge, just to say, an 8 hour trip on nothing but water was a bugger for the front end. For comfort food, nothing can be better than "babies heads" on exercise. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you missed a treat.
Smudge
PS, just read "things" post. The "Buttyboxes" served up on Alberts were certainly repulsive to most pax. But I could usually clean up their leftovers !!!!!
Smudge
PS, just read "things" post. The "Buttyboxes" served up on Alberts were certainly repulsive to most pax. But I could usually clean up their leftovers !!!!!
Last edited by smujsmith; 25th Aug 2013 at 21:31.
The best - the first time I had fresh food in nearly 4 months after living off MREs while on ops. I had to go to a meeting in the ACHQ and had a couple of mates working there whilst I was up in Baghdad and they had the decency to take me out for dinner in downtown Doha. To eat something that actually had a shelf life and not a half life was heavenly and did wonders for morale.
The worst - at the end of that same tour when we had to fly out of Basrah. The Movers were totally unprepared and the only food that was available was a half frozen box of those god-awful sausage rolls. You know the ones - if you sent them off to a lab for testing the results would come back as unidentified. Well not only was there not any food, but no facilities for defrosting the sausage rolls other than turning the barco boilers up to full and propping the sausage rolls up around the outside in the vague hope that you wouldn't shatter a tooth when you bit in to it. They say war is hell, that was the damned worst moment of entire war for me, certainly the one that carried most risk.
The worst - at the end of that same tour when we had to fly out of Basrah. The Movers were totally unprepared and the only food that was available was a half frozen box of those god-awful sausage rolls. You know the ones - if you sent them off to a lab for testing the results would come back as unidentified. Well not only was there not any food, but no facilities for defrosting the sausage rolls other than turning the barco boilers up to full and propping the sausage rolls up around the outside in the vague hope that you wouldn't shatter a tooth when you bit in to it. They say war is hell, that was the damned worst moment of entire war for me, certainly the one that carried most risk.
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The worst mess food I ever experienced was in the airmen's mess at RAF Wahn
back in the mid '50's. They once served up brussel sprouts at breakfast!
The Rock-apes went on strike once, and refused to enter the mess. Sh!it, fan etc. but it didn't improve much. Payday treat was Pork chop mit kartoffel and egg in a local bar, also the Malcolm Club did a roaring trade in egg and chips.
The best food was in the airmen's mess at RAF Tengah in the mid '60's. The Sgt's mess food was pretty average but when on night flying duties everyone ate in the airmens mess... it was a banquet!
Amen to that!
Did anyone ever experience fried eggs that tasted of iodine? In Sharjah you would have.
back in the mid '50's. They once served up brussel sprouts at breakfast!
The Rock-apes went on strike once, and refused to enter the mess. Sh!it, fan etc. but it didn't improve much. Payday treat was Pork chop mit kartoffel and egg in a local bar, also the Malcolm Club did a roaring trade in egg and chips.
The best food was in the airmen's mess at RAF Tengah in the mid '60's. The Sgt's mess food was pretty average but when on night flying duties everyone ate in the airmens mess... it was a banquet!
Other than the appalling white box of despair on trooping flights.
Did anyone ever experience fried eggs that tasted of iodine? In Sharjah you would have.
Last edited by goudie; 25th Aug 2013 at 21:59.
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The best: Hobsonville in New Zealand. It didn't get the name Hotel Hobsonville for nothing.
The worst: Airmans mess in Wigram after an extended days flying, when we discovered the army cooks were doing a stint on the airforce base.
The worst: Airmans mess in Wigram after an extended days flying, when we discovered the army cooks were doing a stint on the airforce base.
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One one 'Mickey Finn' detachment to RAF Squittering in the late 1970's, the crews were brought home in a 52- seat coach which had been re-fitted with Elsans.
I've no idea what the food they ate tasted like (I was laughing about it from many miles away) but it was probably the worst food ever fed to V-Force Alert crews.
I've no idea what the food they ate tasted like (I was laughing about it from many miles away) but it was probably the worst food ever fed to V-Force Alert crews.
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Grub
The worst thing I ever ate in the service was the breakfast bacon at Valley, it tasted like kippers, and the best was in Seletar airmens mess in the 60s, spoilt for choice and wonderful grub!
As for boxes of despair, I never had a problem clearing them up, nor the currys made up from the Rat Packs by the Gurkhas, but babies heads ................. drool!
I forgot to mention the egg banjos and Milo served at Pops tent at Kuching!
Feeling old going to bed!
As for boxes of despair, I never had a problem clearing them up, nor the currys made up from the Rat Packs by the Gurkhas, but babies heads ................. drool!
I forgot to mention the egg banjos and Milo served at Pops tent at Kuching!
Feeling old going to bed!
Last edited by Bill4a; 25th Aug 2013 at 22:08. Reason: Bad memory
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does anyone remember the egg banjos
So called because, having bitten into it, one adopted a banjo playing stance, wiping the yoke from one's shirt front.
Apologies for 'granny suck eggs' etc.
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The absolute worst ever food from a military mess was the Army camp I stayed on for my intelligence course for Pre-NI training on the southeast coast... The name eludes me right now probably due to the trauma, Ashford?... They even managed specks of blackened potato in the mashed potato... We took a taxi to town rather than eat the utter crap being served by the ration assassins...
goudie,
Crikey, after 40 something years I've just discovered where the term "egg banjo" comes from. Thanks for that, I will die a wiser man.
Another "super food" I will never forget was the "goulash" served in "Pops" in the corner of heroes square, Limmasol circa 1973/5. After a night of Brandy cokes, sours, etc a visit was mandatory to "settle the innards" before transport back to Akronelli.
Smudge
Crikey, after 40 something years I've just discovered where the term "egg banjo" comes from. Thanks for that, I will die a wiser man.
Another "super food" I will never forget was the "goulash" served in "Pops" in the corner of heroes square, Limmasol circa 1973/5. After a night of Brandy cokes, sours, etc a visit was mandatory to "settle the innards" before transport back to Akronelli.
Smudge
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Best and Best
The food served in the Canadian mess at Minhad was always good, especially the 'holiday' buffet meals. Had to limit myself to only one Ben and Jerrys per day though. Fortunately there was enough time for fitness that I could get away with eating all the good food.
Best air force in-flight was undoubtedly at Waddington, new menus every 6 months and sandwiches made to order each flight.
Y_G
Best air force in-flight was undoubtedly at Waddington, new menus every 6 months and sandwiches made to order each flight.
Y_G
Last edited by Yeller_Gait; 26th Aug 2013 at 04:47.
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Best - omletes in CHOM during IOT - maybe because we were so hungry we would have eaten a dog.
Worst - everything that followed
Only joking caterers, never had any complaints about the food.
Tom
Worst - everything that followed
Only joking caterers, never had any complaints about the food.Tom
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Best, anything in the middle of the night during a stint in a sanger during an exercise. Babies heads, jock pies, that stew that every cook must learn at cook school. Loverly.
Worst; All the above at any other time!
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Worst; All the above at any other time!
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Worst: any evening meal served in the Combined Mess at RAAF Williams (Laverton), Victoria, Australia since the civilian catering took over. Absolute rubbish.
Best: evening meals cooked to order in the RAAF Glenbrook OM. Amazing what a bit of care and consideration can produce!
Best: evening meals cooked to order in the RAAF Glenbrook OM. Amazing what a bit of care and consideration can produce!