Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Maddelin Hamm | Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeremy Landi wraps fresh strawberries at the Naval Station...... read more read more
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NORFOLK, Va. – The galley at Naval Station Norfolk was named first place winner in the Capt. Edward F. Ney Memorial Awards Program for Food Service Excellence, Feb. 20.
NAVSTA Norfolk's galley took the top spot in the continental United States general mess category. The annual awards, co-sponsored by the Secretary of the Navy and the International Food Service Executives Association, encourage excellence in Navy food service programs, with the objective of improving the quality of life for Navy personnel.
The competition is an extensive six- to eight-month process that first requires a galley to be accredited as a five-star facility. The top two five-star facilities then compete for the Ney award. This year it came down to NAVSTA Norfolk's galley competing against the galley at Naval Air Station, Pensacola.
"You go through a lot of preliminary phases to really start competing for the Ney, but we were ready," said Dave Luca, Naval Station Norfolk Galley food service officer. "We do a lot of training here, and I believe that's what shows when it comes time to compete."
Ney award inspectors use the same inspection sheets used for the five-star accreditation process, evaluating areas such as sanitation, inventory and training.
"Having that sheet from the five-star accreditation actually gets you ready for Ney because it shows you what scores you got in each category. You can improve from there," said Luca.
Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Marshall Adkins, the senior advisor for the NAVSTA Norfolk galley, said most culinary specialists will go their entire career without winning a Ney, but for those who do it can really help their career.
"This not only makes us the best shore galley in the United States, but it will help some of my Sailors when it comes time for advancement," said Adkins. "If I'm on a chief board, and I see 'Ney award' it really stands out to me."
According to Petty Officer 2nd Class Antonio Brown, it's not just what's on the score sheet that makes Naval Station Norfolk the best.
"It takes dedication and hard work. You have to say to yourself those days when you want to go home 'do I want this,'" said Brown. "You have to go beyond. You want to make sure your people are doing the right thing all the time - not just during an inspection."
Naval Station Norfolk's galley hasn't won a Ney award since 1989, but now it seems as though they've set the bar. They were finalists in 2008 and now they're on top.
"It's this very knowledgeable and professional crew. Without them running the show here, the best galley in the Navy means nothing," said Luca. "If you don't have the quality leadership and the culinary specialists in place who know how the inspections go, it won't happen. They really put 200 percent effort toward it."
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2009 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 30751 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, US |
| Web Views: | 467 |
| Downloads: | 270 |
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