NMCP Food Service Team Trained by Regional Chef

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (Aug. 19, 2020) Naval Medical Center Portsmouth’s (NMCP) Culinary Specialists (CS) received some on the job training from a Regional Chef, Aug. 19.
Scott Cooper, Regional Food Service Chef Mid-Atlantic, shared his culinary expertise by giving NMCP CS’s hands-on training during his visit to the command.
“My job consists of training the CS’s for all the local galleys, and I support and help out with special events,” said Cooper. “We do culinary competitions, special meals, develop menus.”
He said that supporting the service members is something he takes great pride in and is a very serious mission for him.
“I was asked to help provide training to the CS’s of NMCP,” Cooper said. “The culinary specialist community is basically one community. No matter if you’re here or at another shore galley, CS’s always end up going to ships and vice versa. We feel that it is important to make sure that we provide the best possible training that we can. As the CS’s learn things, it is going to help improve their skill sets for their everyday meals in support of the Fleet, the fighter and the family. We also want to ensure the culinary specialist have that opportunity to learn things that they wouldn’t normally know.”
The CS’s who attended Cooper’s lessons relished the opportunity to enhance their culinary skills. Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jacob Owens was one of the trainees during Cooper’s training.
“The OJT we were afforded from the chef is good for us because it teaches us new skills to be able to shine more as culinary specialists,” Owens said.
As the U.S. Navy’s oldest, continuously-operating military hospital since 1830, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth proudly serves past and present military members and their families. The nationally-acclaimed, state-of-the-art medical center, along with the area’s 10 branch health and TRICARE Prime Clinics, provide care for the Hampton Roads area. The medical center also supports premier research and teaching programs designed to prepare new doctors, nurses and hospital corpsman for future roles in healing and wellness.