KCC Trained Naval Ships Given Distinguished NEY Awards for Culinary Expertise

Kapiʻolani Community College
Contact:
Daniel Swift, (808) 734-9593
KCC
Gladys Sato, (808) 734-9485
Chair
Posted: May 8, 2003

Kapiʻolani Community College has trained several Navy and Marine Corps personnel assigned to local shore commands, submarines and ships in the culinary arts. Recently, several of the commands with KCC-trained personnel were honored with the distinguished NEY Awards. The annual awards program, co-sponsored by the International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA), celebrates Navy Captain Edward F. Ney and encourages excellence in Navy and Marine Corps food service programs with the objective of improving the quality of life for military personnel.

The commands with KCC-trained personnel that were recognized include: in the attack submarine category, USS Los Angeles in first place with the USS Key West as runner up; in the small afloat category, the USS Salvor was runner-up; in the Overseas Shore General Mess Category, the Silver Dolphin Bistro and Brig Galley, Naval Station, Pearl Harbor Hawaiʻi came in first place.

KCC has been teaching military personnel for almost four years. Several courses are offered including General Mess Operations, Private Mess Operations, Midpac, Healthy Cuisine, Private Quarters Flag Mess and a Food Service Manager‘s course. These courses focus on teaching general food preparation and cleanliness of public quarters, and run a length of one or five weeks depending on the course.

Daniel Swift, a KCC Military Program‘s Chef Instructor who currently teaches the Private Mess Operations/Advance Food Preparation course said, "KCC has a dedicated military program lab that is very flexible with good facilities and individual instructors for the program."

The program is on a contract base that is renewed every five years. Military personnel receive four credits per course and can work towards their associate or bachelor‘s degree. The series of courses are put together for advanced training for culinary arts.

The curriculum is developed in conjunction with regular students at the college. Each five-week course is an average of 200 hours, with 80 hours focused on teaching students material associated with the Navy, such as protocol, and the remaining 120 hours dedicated to culinary arts.

"I think it is fantastic that recent graduates of our courses have contributed to winning NEY awards. The Navy is leading the way when it comes to industry standards of cooking. In some areas, such as sanitation, the military not only can comply but often exceeds expectations," Swift said.

The NEY awards recognize overall food service excellence by judging key areas in customer service, restauranteurship, cleanliness and management. An independent team that reviews food preparation, management, administration, equipment safety, sanitation, plastic waste and disposal evaluates each category. The NEY Awards were established in 1958 by the Secretary of the Navy and IFSEA to improve and recognize quality food service in the Navy.