Show t While Walter Winchell Winched is away this month his hit column will be conducted by guest column columnists t. t Lady Learn to Cook or Your t GI CI Will Go Home to The Army By Captain Captan Ben Irvin Butler Founder and Pt President sid nt ol of th the Soci Society ty ol of Amat Amateur ur Chefs t Sitting Sizing by the roadside on a Summer dar da dai r Chatting wit with II my mess mates passing time away away away- Singing in the shadows underneath the trees Goodness how deli delicious li ci ous eating GOOBER PEAS lEAS That's an old Civil war song And it goes to show that in all wars uppermost uppermost uppermost up up- in the soldiers soldier's mind is food I should spell that word with capitals capitals FOOD Zora Layman the radio and recording recording recording re re- re- re cording artist sang Eating Goober Peas the other night at a cocktail party I dont don't know whether it was washer washer washer her singing or what but Zora Lasman's Layman's Layman's Lay Las mans man's song practically started a riot I was the center of it all The women at the party began asking me questions They wanted to know all about Army food And believe me I told em I told them both as an ex-Air ex Corps captain and andas andas andas as the founder of the Society of Amateur Amateur Amateur Ama Ama- Chefs an exclusive New York club composed of famous men who make a hobby of cooking First of all I explained about this business of KP The movies and fiction have painted paint paint- ed mostly as a business of peeling potatoes and cleaning garbage garbage garbage gar gar- bage cans But that's a lot of non non- sense Many soldiers try to get on KP And why not the not the kitchen is one of the warmest spots around the camp in the Winter time The duties duties duties du du- du- du ties are easy enough And theres there's always the pick of a well stocked larder from which to select ones one's food Im I'm not kidding Instead of being a punishment job handed out by the army to is one detail GI Joe doesn't mind According to Bill Rhode who Is one of the editors of Gourmet many of their fan letters come from soldiers and sailors I had lunch with Bill the other day and he told me how many requests for epicurean epicure epicure- an recipes there hap hail been from men in the various services That very day hed he'd received a letter from froman an Admiral asking how to smoke herring The slogan the best fed Army in the world has been tossed aro around nd a great deal People dont don't any longer grasp entirely what it means The Army kitchen is no harum harum- affair In many instances it is an electrical job spick-and-span spick offering an open invitation to good cookery It has everything in the way of equipment and believe me the medical officers see to it that it itis itis is as sanitary as a kitchen can possibly pos sibly be made No you you can just about see your face in the bottom bot bot- tom torn of an Army garbage can Thousands of Army lads have been carefully trained in cooking butchering and baking and most of ol them have become good cooks Some at least have become efficient efficient effi effi- cooks although perhaps un inspired And then of course some will never learn Hence the discrepancy discrepancy discrepancy dis dis- dis- dis between reports from various various va rious camps and units Some men will rave about the food they enjoyed enjoyed en en- joyed in their outfit Others will keep on yearning for Mothers Mother's beef stew and apple pie But take it from me very few are telling their pals what a wonderful cook the girl girlis girlis girlis is they left behind And theres there's something else I told the ladies at the cocktail party to ponder over Tho Though gh the Army food wins no squawks the GIs occasionally yearn for the finer things of life For instance in stance a nephew of mine min John Piper Pi Pi- per who is an Army pilot somewhere somewhere some I where in the South Pacific upon learning that I was back in N Ne New NewYork e York wrote to me for a recipe for Cot Wild Duck a la Ia Press My old mess sergeant now stationed in a southern south em ern climate inquired as to how tc make a tart lime marmalade Another inquiry came to me from froma a service man far away away Ill Ill I'll let you guess asking how to make mak These are thin wafer that accompany curry when the latter latter latter lat lat- ter is served in the elegant manner An officer connected with th the Army's dietary service told me thai that hed he'd had an inquiry from a mess mes sergeant asking how to make wine out of berries berries berries-a a reasonable enough request request only only the Army doesn't givEout give giveout giveout out with answers to such questions They Know Now All 41 Food Doesn't Come Out of Cans With repeal came the of American gastronomy Slowly ar an interest in good food returned Bulwith But Bul with the War millions of boys are learning and discovering that al all food does not come out of tin can cans And this interest is growing by leaps leap and bounds In camps soldiers have hav eaten freshly baked bread and thEold the theold theold old cotton wadding type of bread from the corner orner grocery store won have much appeal to these boys IB in inthe the future |