[C320-list] 2008 Chef of the year Nominee

[Richard A. Walker]

Adam is doing a great service to the Men and Women who spend endless days at
sea in defense of OUR country.

I highly respect what he is doing.

Cheers,
 
Dick Walker (An old Navy hand)
C-320 (687) WindWalker II
740 Olive Ave.
Coronado, CA 92118-2136
619.435.8986

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of
esquirecatering at rcn.com
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 8:52 AM
To: C320-List
Subject: Re: [C320-list] 2008 Chef of the year Nominee

To all regarding the inquiries of the PROCEEDINGS article and my Navy
duties.  (Everyone else please just delete this immediately.)

1.    I don't believe I sent out the PROCEEDINGS article on the list.  If I
did, please forgive me.  It would be inappropriate to send on the list
because it doesn't relate to C320's.  I am really surprised you noticed the
Chef of the Year thing.  It was buried in the bio part of the article and
not really the key part of the article.  
 
2.    Regarding what I do for the Navy:  The Navy has an Adopt A Ship
Program where it has selected about 75 volunteer chefs nationwide.  The Navy
prides itself on having the best food of all of the services.  On occasion
they send civilian chefs, like me, to ships at sea, bases, and ships in
port.  The stated purpose of the program is to "take Navy food to the next
level."  When doing this I travel under Dept. of Defense orders as a
quasi-officer.  I have no military background.  I have done two previous
gigs, one at the Panama City Beach NSA and one on board the HIGGINS between
Pearl Harbor and San Diego.  I really enjoy doing this, the food is far
better than one would expect, and I can't wait to be asked again.  The only
downside is it does cut into my sailing (I lost four weekends last year to
the program) but hey we all have to make sacrifices.  
 
3.    I don't really drink much, and although there will be some sightseeing
and shore time, I am there to teach cooking with pride and passion and to
improve the food and the service on board ship so shore leave restrictions
aren't really a concern to me.
 
4.    Our own Dick Walker was instrumental in me joining the program.
Ironically, the first I heard of the program was reading an article in The
National Culinary Review at San Diego airport while flying back from the
last regatta.  I had never heard of the program before and when I arrived
home there was an e-mail from the person in charge asking if I would
consider joining the program.  I contacted Dick Walker about this amazing
coincidence and, as they say, the rest is history.