COMMUNAL KITCHEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 313, 1 December 1933, Page 8

COMMUNAL KITCHEN.

EXPERIMENT ON H.M.S. RODNEY. An experiment tried out in H.M.S. .Rodney may herald a minor revolution in naval economics, says the London Daily Telegraph. It has been the custom hitherto in H.M. ships for meals to be prepared separately for the wardroom, the gunroom (where midshipmen and cadets mess), and the warrant officers’ mess, and this has involved much duplication of galleys, pantries, and stores. There has • recently Been introduced in the Rodney a general messing system for officers, under which wardroom, gunroom, and warrant officers’ mess are catered for on exactly the same scale, tile meals in all three messes being identical.

The system appears to be working well. Wardroom officers find it more economical than the old system of separate catering. It is understood that the warrant officers view the scheme with favour. It remains to be seen whether the system will extend throughout the Navy, as general messing for the lower deck has done in all but a few ships to which, for structural reasons, it is not applicable. The standard of navy cooking has improved out of recognition in recent years, thanks in part to the more careful training of cook ratings and in part to the provision of < up-to-date oil-fired or electrical galleys and bakeries. In a recent Admiralty Fleet Order awards were announced to two petty officer cooks serving in submarines for the excellence of the bread they had baked under what must have been exceptionally difficult conditions.