Dining at Chez Kennedy
We are underway now and chow time is approaching. Which reminds me:
JFK sailors eat like kings. Better yet, presidents.
Tuesday night the 2,300-member crew of the USS John F. Kennedy dined on fresh Maine lobster (4,250 pounds of it, to be exact). At lunch today it was steak and baked potatoes.
Surprised? Don't be, says Chief Warrant Officer Charles Jakes, the ship's food service officer. "We feed 'em steak, lobster and everything else."
It's a morale issue, Jakes said. Sailors work long hours for months at a time; the last thing they need is crappy food to start their days with.
Menus since Monday when I came aboard in Boston have included the aforementioned steak and lobster, plus catfish, New England clam chowder and fried and baked chicken, to name a few. Breakfast lovers would, well, love this place. Eggs made-to-order, pancakes and all kinds of sides like bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, stuff like that.
There's also plenty of fruit, veggies and salads for people with body image issues or simply trying to watch calories, carbs, waste lines or whatever.
And you can go back for seconds and thirds -- as long as you eat everything you take, Jakes said. Drinks are self-serve with unlimited refills. (Sodas are Pepsi products, fyi.)
Jakes said there are 69 cooks onboard plus another 140 food service attendants. They staff six dining areas, called messes, including one exclusive to the commanding officer. I tried talking to a couple as they worked but they were just too busy and sweaty to say much. They start their days at 4 a.m. and knock off around midnight, working in two shifts to produce 15,000 meals a day.
Jeff
JFK sailors eat like kings. Better yet, presidents.
Tuesday night the 2,300-member crew of the USS John F. Kennedy dined on fresh Maine lobster (4,250 pounds of it, to be exact). At lunch today it was steak and baked potatoes.
Surprised? Don't be, says Chief Warrant Officer Charles Jakes, the ship's food service officer. "We feed 'em steak, lobster and everything else."
It's a morale issue, Jakes said. Sailors work long hours for months at a time; the last thing they need is crappy food to start their days with.
Menus since Monday when I came aboard in Boston have included the aforementioned steak and lobster, plus catfish, New England clam chowder and fried and baked chicken, to name a few. Breakfast lovers would, well, love this place. Eggs made-to-order, pancakes and all kinds of sides like bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, stuff like that.
There's also plenty of fruit, veggies and salads for people with body image issues or simply trying to watch calories, carbs, waste lines or whatever.
And you can go back for seconds and thirds -- as long as you eat everything you take, Jakes said. Drinks are self-serve with unlimited refills. (Sodas are Pepsi products, fyi.)
Jakes said there are 69 cooks onboard plus another 140 food service attendants. They staff six dining areas, called messes, including one exclusive to the commanding officer. I tried talking to a couple as they worked but they were just too busy and sweaty to say much. They start their days at 4 a.m. and knock off around midnight, working in two shifts to produce 15,000 meals a day.
Jeff
posted by Jeff at
4:47 PM
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