How I Became a cook

How I Became a cook
Now before any off you out there start, and I can here you all saying - 'Was Quinny a chef' ?, Well to be actually correct and keeping a lot of us honest we wore Cooks Whites .All takin the piss aside. When Joined I was like a lot of us, still wet behind the ears, well after we had been in recruit school for 4 weeks the instructor asked what we wanted to be I said to my mate what does he mean ?, he means what do you want to be in the Navy you have to be a something. To be quite honest i had'nt even given it much thought I just wanted to be a sailor .Well i thought about those cooks standing outside the Main Galley at Cerberus and watching us march past every day . I thought gee thats a good lurk sitting around waiting for lunch to be cooked How easy is that. Thats what i want to do, I'll be a cook not that I had any idea about cooking. We were all looked after by mum and all the girls done the cooking in our house, Me ? I'd only ever made a cup of tea nothing else . Any way i stuck to my guns and became a cook. They wanted stewards at the time and said you can be a steward. I said its cook or nothing so cook it was . I did'nt learn for a while later that the cooks standing outside the Main at Cerberus were actually having a 0900 brew break which is still the norm these days. I went to sea as an Ord Cook and cause all Ord Cooks got Cafe Party as Part of Ship and done watch on deck. I didnt see much time in the Galley Unless i volunteered whiich i done, usually helping out in the pie firm on the Sydney. To this day I love baking and making duffs, so thats how it all began all by mistake really. I done my Cooks course in January 1972 and can only remember Animal Harvey who was on course with me The others I can't think of.Twister Hart was my POCK he was the one from the west who was a mickey mouse PO Any Way i passed the practical side of cooking but the theory side I was a bit short on, but none the less i passed and got a posting to Nirimba. Well enough of the shit must go so there you have it it all hapened by mistake really and had an absolute ball for 20 years and never once until i was on the Canberra did i have second thoughts at becoming a Cook There's many in this site that taught me some very good lessons not just in the gallley but life in general . Best wishes Quinny

quinny never meet you but after reading some of your dits i'm looking forward to it at the next cook's reunion

Me too Rick heard plenty of dits about you over the Years. Be good to catch up with and put a few names to faces.Im a real Yak A Tak on this site and love belting out the odd dit . When were you at the tross i was there from 1975 to 1991 I can remember your name being talked about . When i say i was at the tross i mean thats the only depot i done my shore time on i had a couple of stints on CAG And a posting to the Canberra in that time. Plenty of cooks passed through the main gate at the tross during my time there And now with the advent of the internet im catching up with so many that i Havent spoken to for years . I suppose thats one of the main reasons that the next reunion is going to be a belter Is because of the internet Has all bought us white mafia together.That and the fact we have a couple of good organisers doing it that Makes the recipe for a successfull reunion complete. And no my nose aint brown Errol. Credit where its due mate. Anyway Rick welcome to the site and I look forward to reading your submissions Best wishes to you and your lot Quinny

bit different for me.
I just walked into the defence force recruitment centre in Townsville and got the ball rolling on my career in the Navy. I went in for another career but the Navy had other ideas once they saw the results of my aptitude test. I was given the choice of dibbie, steward or cook. I didn't get in the first time because I didn't have enough ticks in the box so I went back to my normal job for a while longer and went to tafe to do a pre-vocational course. Cert 3 in hospitality. Once I had filled the requirements I finally got in and I was off to Cerberus for 10 weeks of recruit school then 19 weeks at Cookery school the first 17 were at the Chisolm inst. of tafe in Frankston. The last 2 were at the main galley at Cerberus. Then I was posted there after doing all the sea going courses. I got a crash posting to Manoora and then i got my final posting to Kuttabul.

cooks
always wanted to be a cook, my sheetmetal teacher said to my as a metalworker you'd make a great cook the rest is history was a navy cadet early seventies74-77 in melbourne i was a cook in there went to Cerberus a few times worked with the cooks in main galley and loved it ever since, now teaching in TAFE. cheers michael boerner

This smart arse ex-Birdie used to always say " The Cook's course was the hardest course in Pussers as no-one ever passed it." I should have belted the smart mouth, every sailor I fed always came back the next day for a feed.......maybe being at sea had something to do with it.

from 4th class all I ever wanted to be was a cook. eventually my dream came true. From that point on all I ever wanted to be was a civilian doing anything else. And eventually that dream came true. Then all I wanted to be was back in pussers as a cook. funny only pussers cooks can really understand why most cooks think the way they do.

Done the Leeuwin bit as a J.R. Nearing the end of the year got assessed as only being good or smart enough to be a butler. Always seemed to be a shortage of them.I gave them the ultimatum. A tucker f---er or civvy street.I won that battle and had 20 great years being a professional bait layer,fitter and turner or what ever else they wanted to call us.Getting 24s off and the first ashore couldn't get any better.It was the best branch going around.I hope it still is.

Yeah Bernie , but you still can't play tennis for shit !! 8)

short version,my dit is bit like Quinnies witha twist,I joined a bit older than most in my intake ,I was 21 most were 17,had aquired a taste for a beer or two and after a few weeks in recruit school was having withdrawal problems,another bloke in same class,never forget him Glen Wallin,ended up a stoker bout same age as me ,said he had been told if we wanted some piss to talk to the cooks,so to cut a long story short we got out piss at an exorborant price and from then on all I was going to be was a pussers cook,best move I ever made

Hi Snelly, Harry Harris here m8. We served together on the Hobart....or was it Brisbane???? around 84-85 I think Ya havn't changed a bit m8 :o) Regards Harry. (Billy)

My dad had an apprentice barber whe joined pussers after he finished his apprenticeship. Came back to visit with a honda lead wing, huge mother of a thing which I thought was cool. After that there was an open day down on the wharves in Melbourne, the Parramatta was in. I thought that River Class was the sexiest thing I had ever seen, dibbies had been working overtime and she looked great. So I was passing by the recruiting centre in Melbourne and decided to fill out the papers. Took them home to get the olds to sign them, mum freaked and dad signed. So, cooks branch was closed so joined as a stoker. Half way through recruit school was able to change over to a chippy (made no difference, still ended up in the hole). So after six months on the Melbourne I found out that the cooks branch was open again and got my Divisional Orificer to get me in. The Engineering Officer was not a happy camper so I got every shit detail until I drafted off and went to cookery school, bludger was trying to break me. I did my next four years as a cook, put my 18 months notice in and waited to get out. Six months before letting me go the put me on a small ships victualling course. I told them that if they put me on a smallie boat I would stay in. They didnt so I stepped. Enjoyed my time immensely and would not trade it for quids.

How I Became a Cook
April 1960, doing enlisting routine at HMAS Rushcutter, enlisting CPO asked "What do you want to do in the Navy son" I replied," Cook" he just said are you sure and my answer was yes and that was that That night I was on the train south to Cerberus and that was the start of nine years as a cook, time I have never regret, in fact I would say the very best years of my life. I was 18 in 1960, age 27 on DEE, now going on 67 and it still seems like it was only yesterday that I joined my first ship. She looked great even through she was in Williamstown Drydock, HMAS Quickmatch 1961, cooks that I can remember PO Cook Bluey Harris, L/Ck Jock Campbell, CK's Harry Bruce, Rey Demenico, John Oxley, George Gross and self Colin S, it is marvellous what comes to mind as you get the wrong side of 66 :grin: :smile: help

hi Colin s would you know or remember a taswiegian cook who was at albatross the same time as me in 1961 and 1963/4 A/B Cook Joey Lord he used to live at greenwell point and had a tribe of kids he was a great bloke .. i was in Big Jock campbells watch in 64 and when he was made up PO i took over his watch as i am going on 67 memories become a bit faded .but flash in at times.and i have a good laugh at the good times i had with great mates. and many a coldie that went over the gums. great to talk to someone from my era regards Johnno

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