The Minute Book
Sunday, 20 December 2015

Army Cookery; Classes for Officers
Topic: Officers

Army Cookery; Classes for Officers

"Blasts from the Trumpet," The Quebec Saturday Budget
20 January 1906

In the past officers have been obliged to take the word of the sergeant-cook as law in connection with Army cookery. But this state of affairs will not last much longer, as it has been decided to form at Aldershot a class for officers at the Army School of Cookery. For many years this school of cookery has trained Army cooks, but hitherto the work has been confined to non-commissioned officers. The subject is now considered of such importance as to demand special supervision at the hands of a commissioned officer in each unit, and at present the quartermasters have been selected to attend this special course. Their duty will not only consist in the supervision of the cooking ion barracks, where there is every convenience, but in the field, where rough-and-ready methods have to be adopted, and where experience has shown the greatest necessity there is in our Army for an improvement.

"Blasts from the Trumpet," The Quebec Saturday Budget
20 October 1906

Imperial army officers have regularly to inspect their men's rations, but few of them have the knowledge to say whether the food has been properly cooked or not. Acting on a suggestion of the Duke of Connaught, the authorities have ordered the officers at Aldershot, immediately after the present manoeuvers, to undergo a course of cookery instruction in the school of cookery in the Badajoz Buildings, under the direction of Staff Sergeant-Major Herbert Wood.

To Major Home, D.A.G., is due the credit of working up the plans for the new course. The instructions will be of the most practical kind, and will include such subjects as selection of foods, "balancing of rations," the proper mingling of various articles in the dietary to obtain the best working results; the various methods of preparation, the building an maintenance of field kitchens, dietetic economy, the value and purchase of stores and the proper cooking of food. The construction and working of the field kitchens have been brought to a science at Aldershot, where many of them are to be seen.

"While it is not proposed to turn each officer into a chef, the military authorities are determined," said an officer at Aldershot yesterday, "to teach him what is proper messing for the men. A very large proportion of the officers are at present blissfully ignorant of the mysteries of food preparation, although they know well that 'an army marches on its stomach,' and that the p[roper cooking and serving of the men's food is of vital importance to good generalship."

The Senior Subaltern


Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

View Latest Entries

The Regimental Rogue.

Follow The Regimental Rogue on facebook.

« December 2015 »
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Entries by Topic
All topics  «
Armouries
Army Rations
Battle Honours
British Army
Canadian Armed Forces
Canadian Army
Canadian Militia
CEF
Cold Steel
Cold War
Commentary
CWGC
Discipline
DND
DND - DHH
Drill and Training
European Armies
Events
Film
Forays in Fiction
Halifax
Humour
LAC
Leadership
Marching
Marines
Martial Music
Medals
Militaria
Military Medical
Military Theory
Morale
Mortars
Officers
OPSEC
Paardeberg
Pay; the Queen's shilling
Perpetuation
RCAF
RCN
Remembrance
Resistance
Russia
Sam Hughes
Soldier Slang
Soldiers' Load
Staff Duties
Stolen Valour
Taking Advantage
The Field of Battle
The RCR
The RCR Museum
Tradition
US Armed Forces
Vimy Pilgrimage
Wolseley Barracks

You are not logged in. Log in
Blog Tools
Edit your Blog
Build a Blog
RSS Feed
View Profile