CAFNR students share Thanksgiving experiences aboard USS Ronald Reagan
by Emily Schmidt, posted Nov. 30, 2007
Amidst the 13 colleges at MU resides a unique major. The hotel and restaurant management major, which is part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, boasts a colorful program full of opportunities. In the major, students further develop skills in management, cooking, planning events, sales and marketing.
Recently, eight hotel and restaurant management students had the opportunity to be aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. MU was the only school to have students aboard the ship. The MU students helped chefs in serving Thanksgiving dinner to about 500 men and women. Traditional Thanksgiving foods were served, such as turkey and ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, rolls, stuffing, pumpkin roll, assorted pies and even Andes mints brownies.
“It was different than being at home because we were around people we did not know,” said Lerin Dirks, a senior hotel and restaurant management student. “In terms of how the meal was prepared, the way we cooked the food and the quantity of food made was definitely different from the way things are prepared at home.”
The USS Ronald Reagan departed from its homeport of San Diego on Nov. 18 and returned Nov. 23. It was first launched in 2001 and is active as of 2007.
“I think that it's a chance to do something good for my country,” said Cassie McClure, a senior majoring in hotel and restaurant management. “The men and women serve to protect our freedoms and sacrifice so much. It's not a lot to make them a turkey on Thanksgiving, but it's small to show them that they are appreciated.”
To be apart of the trip, students went through an application and audition process. After much decision, eight were chosen.
"I just tried out for it,” said Chandler Smith, a senior majoring in hotel restaurant management. “We had to complete a culinary challenge and then we got to go. I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Students who took part in this cruise were Dirks, McClure, Philip Campbell, Natalie Kollars, Gregory Lindsay, Wade Ramirez, Smith and Adam Stanek. Kollars and Lindsay were aboard for their second trip.
“I enjoyed serving Thanksgiving dinner to those men and women because they are not able to spend the holiday with their families, so to be able to recreate that atmosphere, just to make the ship feel a little like home, was incredible,” Dirks said.
The group is taught by Leslie Jett, who is not only their teacher but is also a chef and now an officer in the Navy. This is Jett’s 18th time to participate in the program.
“The first day or so is always difficult getting to know one another on the ship and trying not to get lost,” said Kollars, a senior majoring in food science. “As always, the end results are enjoyable. This trip was just different [than the other].”
This is the fourth year MU has participated in the adopt-a-ship program. In this program, students and other professional chefs work with Navy chefs in preparing meals. According to a 2005 edition of the Navy Supply Corps Newsletter, the adopt-a-ship program has been around since 1997. Its goal is to bring many different chefs together to learn from one another and enrich the program.
“Besides cooking in the galley, we toured areas of the ship such as the flight deck and the hanger bay,” Dirks said. “We were given a tour of the ship's 11 dry food storage facilities and the walk-in freezer and walk-in fridge. We were also given the opportunity to view the Red Room in which Nancy Reagan decorated in the same fashion as the Red Room in the White House.”
The experience encouraged growth for the students.
“I like to remember that new challenges are always around the corner... cooking on a Navy ship, it is completely different than your home personal kitchen,” Kollars said.
