Royal Navy cooks crowned best chefs in Britain's armed forces after winning prestigious contest

MASTER chefs from the Royal Navy have proven they are the culinary crème de la crème of military cooks after being crowned the armed force’s cookery champions.
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Senior Service chefs fended off tough competition from their counterparts in the British Army and RAF to be crowned the victors – for the first time in eight years.

A 26-strong catering services team delivered a mouth-watering display of culinary art and fine-dining skill at the two-day contest at the NEC in Birmingham.

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Top chefs: The team of Royal Navy cooks celebrate being crowned the best military chefs in Britain.Top chefs: The team of Royal Navy cooks celebrate being crowned the best military chefs in Britain.
Top chefs: The team of Royal Navy cooks celebrate being crowned the best military chefs in Britain.
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The team returned with whopping 32 medals and 15 best-in-class awards, picking up the team ethos award in the process.

Team captain, Warrant Officer 2 Si Geldart – who is based in Portsmouth – said: ‘I’m immensely proud and humbled to have led such a professional and passionate team; whether preparing remarkable food in the kitchens or delivering outstanding service front of house they’ve all done incredibly well.’

The competition, known as ‘Exercise Joint Caterer’, was a chance for the navy’s youngest cooks to show off their talents.

AB (Catering Services) Molly Rowe, currently serving on the Portsmouth-based aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, was one of the junior team members and said: ‘I’ve loved my time at Exercise Joint Caterer. Not only have I seen amazing work produced but I’ve also learnt so many things in the short time we have had to train as a team.

Pictured are some of the delights cooked by the team of Royal Navy chefsPictured are some of the delights cooked by the team of Royal Navy chefs
Pictured are some of the delights cooked by the team of Royal Navy chefs
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‘Being a competitor has definitely boosted my confidence; the whole experience has been nothing short of spectacular and I’d love to be part of the team again.’

This year’s showcase also saw changes in how the contest was run, allowing competitors to demonstrate other skills, like mixing cocktails and mocktails.

One of the senior team members, Petty Officer Shaun Willis, who is normally an instructor at the Defence College of Logistics, Policing and Administration at Worthy Down in Hampshire, said: ‘This event is a great opportunity to benchmark our high-end skills with the very best the hospitality industry has to offer.

Visitors to the contest scrutinise the work of one of the Royal Navy's team of chefsVisitors to the contest scrutinise the work of one of the Royal Navy's team of chefs
Visitors to the contest scrutinise the work of one of the Royal Navy's team of chefs

‘As we continually evolve the way the Royal Navy delivers defence engagement events, mixology, including mocktails, is just one of the latest things we’re exploring so it’s great to be competing these sorts of skills this year and really show what we can do.’

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