BAM! Emeril tapes show at Ft. Lee to pormote US Army going (slowly) green-local-organic

[underpants]

FORT LEE Despite celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse's references to the cooking power of jet fuel, it was actually a cleaner-burning, low-grade diesel powering the stoves here yesterday.

"Even in the fields, they are not just relying on Meals Ready to Eat, those MREs," said Lagasse, during a break in the taping that continued into midafternoon.

"They really have people that they have trained here and other places who can really cook," Lagasse said. "I think they have realized that food is definitely a morale booster."

Yesterday's menu included jambalaya, chicken pot pie, corn and potato chowder, green beans, ham and mashed potato croquettes, fruit salad and bread pudding -- some made with the cafeteria-size cans and packages of food you might find at a military base in the middle of nowhere.

Lagasse and his helpers cooked in a makeshift kitchen set up on a lot near containerized kitchens like those used by the military in the field. The big trailers have the capacity to prepare meals for up to 800 people.

"Did you take a peak inside? It's like any state-of-the-art commercial kitchen," Lagasse said.

Even the Army, he said, is attempting to go green.

"This new water-filtration system that they have, which separates the grease and all the food particles, is doing a good job here at Fort Lee in protecting the environment," he said.

"Some of the bases are beginning to start a compost program or a recyclable program. That's pretty big considering this is just one base, and look at how big it is," Lagasse said.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/EMER19_20090418-221620/259787/

[arcadian]

1. Huh, so the Quartermaster's corp is responsible for the Army's chefs.

I didn't really know that, but it makes sense.

[underpants]

2. There is a quartermaster museum there

My step-father being the history buff dragged us to it. I actually learned a lot. Quartermasters are the logistics pros in the military-although a lot of it now is outsourced.