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Both customers and staff now have something to smile about when it comes to the dining facility at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center – better tasting food, and equipment that actually works.
***image1***“It’s like night and day,” said Spc. Benjamin Kable, nutrition care specialist. “The equipment isn’t ancient or broken down every other day.”
Prior to the $3 million renovation project, going to work at the dining facility was an adventure. Will the oven work today? Will we have to cook the chicken three hours in advance and let it die a slow death in the food warmer?
“It was a ‘The show must go on’ kind of attitude around here,” said Lt. Col. Laurie Sweet, Nutrition Care Division chief. “We just had to make the best of a bad situation and improvise to get the people fed.”
No longer is that a problem. Beginning in November 2005, the entire place was gutted and made new. From the ovens to the break room, everything has improved. It was completed in little more than a year.
“As a civilian, I worked in many restaurants,” said Specialist Kable. “This equipment is restaurant-quality. We can cook a lot faster now, too. Switching from electric coil to steam heat reduces burning of the product and gives you heat like that (snaps his fingers).”
Steam heat distributes heat evenly. It saves electricity and can heat the biggest steam kettle (imagine a 50-gallon drum filled with water) in about eight minutes – as opposed to the 30 minutes it took with the electric coil, he said.
What that means to the customer is fresher food. Cooks can prepare a lot of items on an almost as-needed basis. Even the salads have improved.
“Oh, we have a giant salad spinner,” said Colonel Sweet, referring to the implement that looks like it could double as a washing machine. “Our lettuce used to be swimming in water and that was a big complaint from our customers. But we’ve got that fixed now.”
And it’s not just steam heat that makes the difference. New ovens with built-in food warmers, slip-free flooring, more storage space, new deep freezers, charbroilers and pizza ovens all play an important role – especially to the morale of the staff.
“Having something that you can be proud of makes a big difference to the attitude of the staff,” said Master Sgt. James Mosher, NCD NCOIC. “It’s a sense of pride and confidence. You shouldn’t have to come to work and wonder whether or not the equipment will work. For years that is what this staff had to endure. This project has been a big morale boost.”
