What do culinary excellence and esprit de corps have in common? The 56th Philip A. Connelly Program, of course. On March 5, the culinary specialists of the 82nd Sustainment Brigade at Fort Liberty’s Providers Café will be competing with their fellow soldiers from across the world to see who can provide the best dining experience at a Warrior Restaurant. Teams from Korea, Germany, Alaska and Washington will gather at the Providers Café to determine which dining facility team is the most well-trained in their Military Occupational Specialty. 

 

As stated by Chief Warrant Officer 2  Malika Nixon, “The Philip A. Connelly Program is the personification of food service excellence executed by culinary specialists resulting in the presentation of extremely gratifying dining experiences across all Army food service platforms in garrison and field environments.” 

CW2 Nixon said there were seven core reasons behind the competition.

 

1. Improve the professionalism of food service personnel, thus providing the best quality food service to supported diners.

 

2. Provide recognition for excellence in the preparation and serving of food in Army dining facilities and

field kitchen operations.

 

3. Provide incentives to competitive programs of ASC and ASCCs by adding a higher level of competition and recognition.

 

4. Award individuals for stellar management practices.

 

5. Provide measurable results directly impacting Readiness and Go-To-War Skills.

 

6. Train Culinary Professionals to provide nutritional meals.

 

7. Promote and improve Army food service by providing competition, incentives, professional training and media coverage.

 

Everything from the soldiers’ neatness of dress to their composure under pressure will be evaluated by a group of subject matter experts on culinary service and how it relates to the military. There are planned to be 52 separate categories the teams will be evaluated on, with an overall total of 1000 points being the max any team can earn. However, CW2 Nixon stressed the culinary specialists from the 82nd Sustainment Brigade Food Service Team have prepared strenuously for the event. 

 

“The 82nd Sustainment Brigade paratroopers have trained for over 6 months on food preparation, culinary arts training and nutrition. The unit has thoroughly renovated our entire building to ensure our kitchen has the best equipment for this competition,” she said.

 

The three individuals who will be evaluating the teams are not without their accreditation.

 

The first is Chief Warrant Officer 5 George Davis. With over 30 years of experience in the Army Food Excellence Program, CW5 Davis has decades of experience and insight into the standard operating procedures of a Warrior Restaurant. He is currently serving as the United States Army Central Command Food Advisor in South Carolina. 

 

The second judge is Sgt. Maj. Michael Bogle. He also has over 30 years of experience in the Army Food Service Excellence Program, and is currently serving as the Chief Culinary Management sergeant major in Texas. 

 

The final judge is Kevin Scott. President and Founder of Go Global Food LLC, Scott is a self-described “global food and restaurant industry lifer.” With multiple years of food industry training, management, logistics and procurement, Scott is more than qualified to evaluate the food preparation, presentation, and organization of the teams involved.

 

The competition will take place on March 5th from 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Headquarters Department of the Army will announce the winning team of the competition the month after the event in April, with the presentation of the award taking place on May 17. 

 

Winners of the event will be awarded Certificates of Achievement. Two team members on the winning teams will attend the National Restaurant Association annual conference and awards ceremony. 

 

On top of being recognized and lauded for their triumph, one junior Non-Commissioned Officer and two junior enlisted soldiers will attend a one-week training exercise at the Culinary Institute of America. 

 

CW2 Nixon remarked the following, “In the last 10 years, Providers Café is known as a Philip A Connelly award-winning Warrior Restaurant. The last time 82nd Sustainment Brigade won was in 2019. The 82nd Sustainment Brigade have claimed the title of best dining facility or best field kitchen a dozen times. They have been runner-up in one of those categories three times. This year we are coming to regain our title for the number one Warrior Restaurant across the US Army.”