Culinary Specialist demonstrate their abilities at Galley Wars

LOS ANGELES- Los Angeles Fleet Week host Galley wars aboard the Battleship Museum USS Iowa, May 28, 2023.

Galley wars pits cooks from the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard against each other in a culinary competition judged by a panel of celebrity and executive level chefs. This year’s theme was surf and turf. The military chefs had to prepare Mahi Mahi, steak and two sides in 30 minute time.

The competitors thought the mahi-mahi was a tough ingredient to tackle in this competition.

“We've never even seen Mahi Mahi, said Nico Maclin, Regimental Support Squadron (RSS), 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (11th ACR). So, I've heard about it, never actually physically seen it. And I did not know the actual flavor component, the texture of Mahi Mahi. The cooking technique. So, I had to do a lot of studying on that to have a cooking proper.”

The competition came down to the Coast Guard and the Marines and the Coast Guard took down the top prize. Even though the Coast Guard won they knew they had tough competition.

“I was really scared of the Marines and of course Army because they won last year," said Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Ryan Watson, assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne. "There was no real warnings we were trying to keep everything a secret from the competition.”

The Culinary Specialist from the Coast Guard think that their creative style was the reason they won.

“I feel like our dishes were really creative," said Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Caroline Martinez, assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne. "I have a Mexican background myself. I felt like that was going to be too easy of a go to, so we wanted to kind of mix it up. LA is a huge mixing pot of cultures. We wanted to bring some of that in here.”

Rear Adm. Robert Chadwick II, Commander Carrier Strike Group 9, knew who the real winners of this competition were.

“I was disappointed our Navy team did not win, but I hope what everyone took away from this is the pride each of these teams put into their work," said Chadwick. "I think the real winners are the Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Coast Guardsmen who get to eat the food that these wonderful professionals make every day. That's what we're trying to highlight here.”

LAFW is an opportunity for the American public to meet their Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard teams and experience America's sea services. During fleet week, service members participate in various community service events, showcase capabilities and equipment to the community, and enjoy the hospitality of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.