HMCS Yellowknife finds recipe for success

Sailor 2nd Class Trey Pennington, military cook-in-training, prepares dishes for his Confirmation Dinner.

Peter Mallett,
Staff Writer

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With taste buds tantalized and the rave reviews almost unanimous, a Cook-in-training has served up another finger-licking Confirmation Dinner.

After completing a key component of his on-the-job training, Sailor 2nd Class (S2) Trey Pennington of HMCS Yellowknife is happy about the prospects of soon becoming a certified, full-fledged Cook.

S2 Pennington was cool as a cucumber while working over a hot grill, serving up a four-course meal for eight hungry guests at the Venture Galley on the afternoon of June 27. The Confirmation Dinner was part of his Rank Qualification (RQ) testing with the Canadian Forces Logistics Training Centre (CFLTC).

“I wasn’t nervous at all while preparing this meal; the testing went fairly smoothly and it was great to get so many compliments afterwards,” said S2 Pennington.

The dinner menu included corn bread, vegetable soup, spinach and cranberry, and almond salad in balsamic and shallot dressing, slow oven-baked BBQ ribs, shaken garlic potatoes topped with chives, grilled corn medley, and chocolate chip banana bread.

“The trickiest part of preparing this meal was making sure the ribs had a good amount of flavour and weren’t too dry, so it was important to keep layering on the BBQ sauce and making sure there was some liquid in the bottom of the pan,” he said.

The invited dinner guests included three of his Yellowknife shipmates, three members of the Lookout Newspaper and his two assessors from Base Foods.

“It was an incredible meal from start to finish, with great portion sizes and the flavour of everything just was awesome,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Adrian Jack, Coxswain of HMCS Yellowknife. “Now I can feel at ease knowing the ship’s company and I will be well-taken care of when we depart on Operation Caribbe later this year.”

“What really stood out for me was the sweet and savory salad dressing he prepared and the spices and flavors in the soup and the grilled corn medley,” said Sailor 1st Class Quinlan Smith, a Naval Combat Information Operator aboard Yellowknife.

S2 Pennington, 21, is from Parksville, B.C., and a former member of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets. He previously worked in the fast-food industry before joining the Navy in 2021 after discussing possible career paths in a heart-to-heart discussion with his parents. Although he is just taking his first steps as a military cook, the vital importance of serving nutritious and good-tasting food in not lost on S2 Pennington.

“I believe a well-fed fleet is crucial to operational success and Cooks are responsible for serving delicious and uplifting meals on ships,” he said. “The cold reality is, if we aren’t outputting great food in the galley, morale on the ship takes a serious blow.”

Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class (CPO2) Troy McGregor currently oversees S2 Pennington and the 98 other Cooks posted to CFB Esquimalt and the Pacific Fleet. As the West Coast Occupational manager and advisor, CPO2 McGregor says Confirmation Dinners are an important culmination of a Cook’s training.

“The Cook prepares a menu with recipes, a shopping list based on it and prepares the entire meal on their own to be served to the assessors and dinner guests,” said CPO2 McGregor. “It’s a combination of hands-on experience, theoretical knowledge and culinary skills they’ve learned up to that point in their career.”

He says Confirmation Dinner testing criteria include presentation, taste, temperature, portion size with grading overseen in the galley’s kitchen by a Base Foods assessor and dinner guests.

CPO2 McGregor was happy to report that S2 Pennington passed his Confirmation Dinner test and in 12 months will be eligible to attend a CFLTC training course at CFB Borden.

On-the-Job Training for cooks takes between 12 and 24 months to complete. Cooks are required to serve and prepare meals that range from cafeteria-style menus to formal multi-course meals for military and civilian dignitaries. They assist in the handling of food and other kitchen supplies, providing religious and spiritual dietary accommodations, management of food safety including operating, cleaning and maintaining food services equipment and facilities.

The basic skills and knowledge of a Cook include cooking terminology, weights and measurements, conversions and equivalencies, introductory baking and meat preparation, small and large quantity cooking, food service standards and food cost controls, fire and safety precautions, and equipment and facility maintenance.

The main course of a Confirmation Dinner served by Sailor 2nd Class Trey Pennington at Venture Galley, which included slow oven-baked BBQ ribs, shaken garlic potatoes topped with chives, and a grilled corn medley. Photos: Peter Mallett/Lookout Newspaper