Who trains Pussers Cooks now?
hi i have heard that private contractors cook at the shore bases now . is this true or just furphey .. :?: also can you tell me where is the cookery school is it still at Cerebus and how do cooks get on when they go to sea? if they dont cook on land do they stay at sea all the time. :oops: i might be a bit slow but it dont add up to me. stay cool johnno :?:

Over to you Smitty your more up to date on this seeing as you've only been out a couple of years I know civvie cooks are running the galleys on most bases now if not all of them This was being phased in about 1992 or 3 The RAAF were the first to adopt it at the Wagga base and other services followed suit As far as the training for chefs goes there are a few on site that can give you an up dated idea as to whats going on I believe they do tafe courses now Be interesting to see where this thread goes.I for one would be glad to hear whats going on in pussers these days especially in the cookery dept .

Other Ranks (Non Technical), Qualified Cooks are responsible for the preparation of food for the Navy at all times and in all conditions both ashore and afloat, in surface ships and submarines. Responsibilities of a Naval Cook include: Compilation of provisions orders to meet requirements;Management of the budget for the Navy's victualling system;Calculation of the volume and type of provisions required by the galley to meet the requirements of the menu;Operation of galley (kitchen) equipment, menu planning, andPreparation, cooking and presentation (serving) of all foods including meats, breads, cakes, pastries, sauces, vegetables and sweets.Other Ranks (Non Technical) (Reserve) Naval Reserve Cooks are responsible for the preparation of food for the Navy at all times and in all conditions, both ashore and afloat, in surface ships and submarines. Responsibilities of a Naval Cook fall into two main areas. Firstly, those duties connected with the catering role and secondly, additional duties to be undertaken onboard ships. Duties connected with the catering role include: Compilation of provisions orders, including calculating the volume and type of provisions necessary to meet the requirements of the menu;Menu planning;Operation of galley (kitchen) equipment; andPreparation, cooking and presentation (serving) of all foods including meats, breads, cakes, pastries, sauces, vegetables and sweets.Additional duties undertaken when onboard ships (the nature of these duties, and the mix undertaken will vary depending upon the class of ship) include: Act as a member of the Ship's medical emergency, damage control, and firefighting teams;Act as a member of the flight deck team in support of the Ship's helicopter;Undertake biological and chemical defence training, and ongoing renewal of these skills;Seagoing duties may also include such as membership of boarding parties, or upper deck sentry teams.Cookery Duties on a Major Fleet Unit (MFU): Once trained, cooks will be employed at sea in a galley, usually in a shift watch system, under limited supervision and guidance to assist in the preparation, cooking and serving of meals. On a typical MFU, the crew may vary between 150 and 220 personnel and the galley team comprises 8 cooks. Four meals are produced each day and the galley team works together, sharing duties to prepare these meals. As in indicator, MFUs in full operating cycles spend approximately 50% of the year at sea. The average period spent at sea in one stretch is one to four weeks. Cookery Duties on a Minor War Vessel (MWV): A cook with a high level of competency and proven ability to work unsupervised, may be given additional training in order to serve on MWVs. Cooks on MWVs are solely responsible for the entire catering function for crews ranging in numbers from 15 to 25.

Employment Training Other Ranks (Non Technical) ADF Initial Cook's Course: 22 Weeks 19 weeks delivered by contracted training provider (currently Chisholm Institute) 3 weeks Navy training delivered by ADF School of Catering The ADF School of Catering, HMAS CERBERUS Westernport Victoria, administers the ADF Initial Cook's Course. The course is Tri-Service with training delivered in partnership with Chisholm Institute. Upon graduation accreditation A QF 2 is awarded for a Certificate II in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery - Non Apprenticeship). Whilst undertaking training as a cook trainees are accommodated at HMAS CERBERUS. The course provides both practical and theoretical instruction in all aspects of cookery and kitchen activities. Subjects taught include food nutrition, methods of cookery and kitchen activities. Subjects and recipes taught include but are not limited to: Follow health, safety and security procedures;Clean and maintain kitchen premises;Receive and store kitchen supplies;Work with colleagues and customers;Work in a socially diverse environment;Follow workplace hygiene procedures;Establish and maintain quality control;Develop and update hospitality industry knowledge;Plan and control menu based catering;Organise and prepare food;Prepare stocks, sauce and soups, such as chicken stock, seafood Chowder, sauce béarnaise and roasted pumpkin soup;Use basic methods of cookery including boiling, poaching, steaming, microwaving, stewing, braising, grilling, frying, baking and roasting;Prepare appetisers and salads such as greek salad, marinated mushrooms, tzatziki and california rolls;Prepare sandwiches;Prepare vegetables, eggs and farinaceous dishes including poached eggs florentine, lasagna, risotto, lentil and leek burgers and potato gnocchi;Prepare and cook poultry and game including chicken kiev, thai chicken curry, roasted duck and kangaroo loin with mediterranean vegetables;Prepare and cook seafood including crispy skinned barramundi, yabby risotto and seafood crepes;Select, prepare and cook meat including lamb, veal, pork, beef and fancy meats (offal);Prepare hot and cold desserts including pavlova, fruit tarts, berry cheesecake, passionfruit soufflé, stick date pudding and Christmas pudding;Prepare pastry, cakes and yeast goods including bread doughs, puff pastry, danish pastry, black forest cake, swiss roll, apple strudel and profiteroles.Qualified Applicants who are Chef qualified, may apply for Qualified Entry Sailor (QES) status. Assessment of the trade qualification will be made by the Cookery Training School. QES cooks are entered as part of a GE intake and undergo basic recruit training. QES cooks will be afforded the rank of Recruit on entry, with promotion to Provisional Able Seaman on successful completion of Recruit training, providing approval for the transfer to QES has been granted. On completion of the GE recruit course, QES Cooks undergo a trade assessment at HMAS CERBERUS to ascertain theoretical and practical trade proficiency. If this trade assessment is successfully completed, the sailor commences the QES-Cooks Bridging course, undertaking modules as recommended by HMAS CERBERUS. Confirmation of Competency Level 2 occurs on successful completion of the Bridging course. QES Cooks who fail the trade testing or bridging course will be given the option of: Completing the entire Basic Cook's course at the first available opportunity and downgrading to skill grade 1 (provisional), on successful completion of the Basic Cook's course;Transfer of Branch (subject to manpower requirements); orDischarge At Own Request (DAOR).QES cooks also complete the Sea Posting Qualification Course of 2 weeks duration. Other Ranks (Non Technical) (Reserve) After completing the abridged General Entry course at HMAS CERBERUS, a cookery competency log is issued which all personnel must complete. In assessing the Qualified Entry sailor, the ADF Catering School may grant recognition of prior learning, thereby reducing the size of the competency log. The Chisholm Institute - TAFE Hospitality, Cookery and Events Management Cookery Event Management and Hospitality Hospitality Chisholm’s Hospitality, Cookery and Events Management courses prepare graduates for fast paced careers and job opportunities around the world. Practical learning experience is a key element of Chisholm’s training and is achieved through participation in the highly interactive student run training restaurants located at major campuses. Students are regularly involved in key community and industry events including the Mornington Peninsula and Sorrento Longest Lunch, the Mornington Peninsula Cool Climate Wine Show and the Melbourne International Food and Wine Festival. Courses are based at Frankston, Dandenong, Rosebud and Bass Coast campuses. Hospitality graduates have found work both locally and internationally as chefs, cooks, kitchen attendants, waiters, food and beverage supervisors, front office managers, hotel/motel/bar/restaurant managers and catering managers. Email: General enquiries for courses in Hospitality, Cookery and Events Management Cookery Certificate II in Hospitality (Kitchen Operations) (Dandenong, Frankston) This course provides students with basic cookery skills. Graduates are certified as competent in safe food handling practices and gain a sound knowledge of food commodities and the basic skills of a pre- apprentice cook or kitchen assistant in a commercial kitchen. Email: Enquire about Certificate II in Hospitality (Kitchen Operations) Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) (Dandenong) This course provides vocational training for apprentice cooks employed in the hospitality industry. The apprentices gain the culinary skills and knowledge required of a professional chef in the hospitality industry which is complemented by their industry training. Email: Enquire about Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) Certificate IV in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) (Dandenong) This course provides students with the culinary skills and knowledge a qualified chef requires and the supervisory skills to undertake a team leading role in a commercial kitchen Email: Enquire about Certificate IV in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery)

Johnno HMAS CERBERUS, KUTTABUL,STIRLING and WATSON WARDROOM are still manned with pussers cooks but they are under the financial constraints of a contractor. The contractors cover a whole host of areas to support Defence i.e. cleaning, security, accommodation, catering, grounds and maintenance etc. The contractor comes under the scrutiny of DSG (DEFENCE SUPPORT GROUP, public service) who monitor and asses the contractors performance. Some of the DSG positions are filled with uniformed personnel as CPM’s (Contract Performance Managers) who assist with the monitoring of the contract i.e. WOCK,CPOCK’s, POCK’s, CPOSTD’s and POSTD’s. When ashore pusses cooks are employed by DSG but still come under the DFDA (DEFENCE FORCE DISCIPLINE ACT). HMAS WATSON MAIN GALLEY, PENGUIN,WATERHEN, ALBATROSS, CRESWELL are manned by civvie contractor cooks. The galleys that are filled with pusses cooks can be back filled by civilian cooks if there is a shortage of uniformed personnel. As Kippy pointed out, training is carried out at TAFE in a tri service environment. The Cooks do still cook ashore but the choices of shore postings have diminished over the years. Confused yet? Your not slow Johnno, it would be easy to be confused with the way it is set up.

thank you for your info .. still confuses :? the hell out of me ..who thought this bxxxxxxt up . i also heard that the meals aren't as good as they were when pussers trained cooks were running the show as we didnt have to make a profit. where did the aussie jack tar matelot go ? that may be a good thread to put up on the forum. aye scrans off shutters down regards johnno :grin:

As far as i knew the Main Galley at Cerberus was manned by uniform personal. I know Spotless Catering use to have the contract down at Cerberus it has only recently been taken over by Transfield Service who have got there finger in everything. I know one of the delivery drivers for Bidvest who is an ex SN who had to do an emergency run down there when Transfield took over because spotless didn't leave a cracker behind. For all the people that didn't know the Old Main Galley at Cerberus was knocked down and turned into a car park and the new galley was rebuild behind the Victualling store in front of 6 Block and 10 block, with direct access to the Victualling store. No more excuses of, "i have to go up the store to get something" so you could have a quick durry on the way.

I work at the defence force bases in townsville and they seem to go ok from a civillian point of view. they seem to have enough staff at the RAAF base in the kitchen. I bet everyone was happy when transfield took over the kitchen at Cerberus. I know when Spotless ran the kitchen they were so tight with the food budget I don't know how I got the first part of my comp log done.

What do you expect Smiddy the spotless manager was ex WOCK Gary Harnett. Did you work in the old galley Smiddy or just the new one? Who has the contracts up North?

I know spotless is at the raaf base so most probably everwhere else i suppose

Agree that pussers cooks are far better than the civvie ones. I have had meals at the RAAF Base in Townsville which is also contract based and think I saw one or two RAAF cooks working there. Not overally impressed with the meals Recently had 4 days onboard HMAS KANIMBLA sailing from Townsville to Sydney with the Cadets and family members of the crew. Meals were excellent and pretty good choices especially the seafood buffet we had on deck while anchored in the Whitsundays :grin: I suppose one good thing now is that you end up with civilian qualifications which didn't happen back when I was in.....or at least I don't think it did. Cheers Jude

Gdday Jude I thought youd lost ya pencil Good to hear from you now The meals did take a decided turn for the worse after the civvies took over but on ships the meals are good and im led to believe they have a lot more flexibility in making menus on ships when the Starvo was running the show its all organised by the POCK now and that was getting phased in when i left in 1991 perhaps some cooks who got out after that would give you a more up dated picture . They had brought in the civilian trade certificate In about 1989 And the cooks had to do a task book to qualify Those that had been in for some time got a proficiency Certificate . After doing an exam or some sort I got one and its with my resume . And all joking aside it wasn't worth the paper it was written on. I had a lot of chefs jobs in civvie street and even had apprentices working for me And not once was i asked to show my Qualifications In the cooking game in civvie street You're only ever as good as the last meal you serve out . Its good that civilian accreditation for navy chefs Has been implemented .I once never met a civvie Chef that shared the same work ethic as me a lot of them although qualified are bloody uselee look at that that Ramsay idiot on tele I rest my case Can you imagine him in a pussers galley at sea A chill just ran up my spine Keep well Jude good to hear from you Regards Quinny

i agree with you quinny i think he would have to be a marathon swimmer if he ever went into any galley onboard ship or like have a boot or two inserted forcefully every time he opened his mouth. wouldnt last 2 minutes . makes my blood boil to think of the mega bucks he get for being a loud mouth idiot. have great day Johnno

Love to have Mr Ramsey in my watch or galley :grin: Specially in a DDG , Daring or D.E. crossing the Bight or through Bass Strait , when the Off Watch have been sent to their bunks , because of the weather and the Cheffies are still trying to pump out three meals a day :shock: shit it was fun!!!! :smile: Then he might find out what real cooking is . :twisted: