WASHINGTON (USTCNS) --- The first advanced culinary course for MSC mariners was held at the Naval Supply Corps School in Athens, Ga., last month. This is the first culinary curriculum specifically developed for the cooking Environment aboard an MSC ship.

In the past, MSC was sending its mariners to premier Culinary institutions such as Johnson and Wales in Norfolk, Va., and the Culinary Institute of America with locations in Hyde Park, N.Y., and St. Helena, Calif. The techniques that were taught in these schools, however, did not take into consideration the constraints of cooking aboard a ship.

"The equipment used in these institutions was not Compatible with a shipboard environment. This weakened the curriculum's effectiveness," said MSCS(SW) Roberta Jio, USN. "The mariners were getting frustrated because they could not use the skills they had just been taught."

The advanced culinary school is designed for chief stewards and chief cooks. During the course, mariners are taught new cooking and baking techniques along with a variety of other skills using shipboard equipment - making the transition from classroom to galley much smoother. Students were taught how to write complete menus ensuring healthy main entrees, desserts and side dishes, and breads were also included.

They also learned how to calculate the costs of offering different menus and recipes -- critical to maintaining a balanced budget. The curriculum also covered such topics as customer service and conflict resolution, and the procedures for ordering supplies in different geographic regions.

The three individuals who taught the course, Chef Monroe Gaultney, Chef James Cason, and MSCS Jio, are highly qualified, experienced instructors. Gaultney is a certified executive chef with 30 years of experience in the culinary arts and has been a mainstay at MSC for five years.

Chef James Cason is a certified chef de cuisine with 15 years of experience who has been with MSC for one year. Both chefs are certified culinary educators, which means they have taught culinary arts in colleges and universities.

MSCS Jio has 17 years of experience in food service. She is also a master training specialist, which is the Navy's equivalent to a certified culinary educator, and she will soon become a certified executive chef.

Twenty percent of the advanced culinary course grade was based on daily classroom participation, 30 percent on the daily test and various cooking projects, and 50 percent on the written final exam and final cooking performance test.

MSC plans to offer the advanced culinary course four times a year and the basic class six times a year. The basic culinary course is designed for pay-grade cook/baker and below.

Military Sealift Command, the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense, operates about 110 noncombatant Navy ships. MSC ship missions vary from the transport and afloat prepositioning of defense cargo; to underway replenishment and other direct support to Navy ships at sea; to at-sea data collection for the U.S. military and other U.S. government agencies. (FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).