Army National Guard cooks based at Jamaica Armory competing to be the best in the National Guard

Soldiers from Company F. 427th Brigade Support Battalion are among top four mess sections in the 335,000 member Army National Guard

Queens, N.Y. (10/04/2019) — New York Army National Guard cooks who drill at the New York State Armory in Jamaica, Queens have been named among the best in the National Guard and will compete against three other Army National Guard units for recognition in 2020.

The ten members of the mess section of Company F, 427th Brigade Support Battalion, were evaluated as part of the Army's annual cooking competition in July during their annual training period at Fort Drum, in Jefferson County.

The Soldiers provide support to members of the New York Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery. They won a regional competition and will not compete to the best in the 335,000 member Army National Guard.

Known as the Connelly Competition-for Phillip A Connelly, an innovator in the food service industry-the annual event is run by the Army and the National Restaurant Association to recognize outstanding food service in the military.

The Army will determine winners and runner-ups in competition categories for Active Army dining facilities; Active Army field kitchens; Army National Guard field kitchens; and Army Reserve Field Kitchens.

The team from the Jamaica Armory will be competing against mess sections from Virginia, Nebraska and Iowa.

The competition required the cooks to set up a military Containerized Kitchen, prepare a specific meal, and then serve it under field conditions to troops taking a break from training.

The required menu included stuffed pork chops, cottage fried potatoes, and corn bread.

The competition evaluators considered the taste of the food, food handling, food ordering and inventory, and the time it took to prepare and serve the meal in a field environment.

The F Company, 427th Support Battalion mess section will be evaluated January and March.

The winning units will be recognized during the National Restaurant Association annual conference and three junior Soldiers from the mess section will get an opportunity to attend one week of training at the Culinary Institute of America.

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