WOMEN CAMP COOKS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 787, 18 August 1916, Page 4

WOMEN CAMP COOKS.

( The following article shows the success with which a "Daily Mail" suggestion J to use women as cooks in camps has been carried into effect. Cooking for the soldiers is perhaps one of the most vital branches of the vast organisations of the war, for to maintain the necessarily high standard of health of the Army is one of the essentials of an ultimate victory- —and | good food means health and strength to (the soldier. "An army,'' it is said, I''like a serpent, moves on its stomach! " I Yesterday I was aide to realise this :to some slight extent, when I. visited one i of the largest, convalescent camps in England. Certainly I had an opportunity of forming -some slight conception of the tremendously important part j played by the camp "ooks, ami of judging a little of the benefits resulting from the introduction of women into'that important sphere of work to which theyare so admirably adapted. I As I stepped from the hot, dazzling ! sunshine into the long, dark kitchen, | built of corrugated iron, the khaki-clad !figures loomed vaguely, and it was some few moments before 1 realised that at last the obviously suitable "woman" element had been introduced into the culinary department of the Army. ft was wonderful to watch this, little i army of women-soldiers cooking potatoes and greens in great iron cauldrons ; which stood in a double line down the ! centre of the room. At each side were 1 built great coal ovens, from which they extracted huge joints of appetising beef and mutton. Nothing- could have impressed my mind more forcibly with the immensity of the task of feeding an army than this peep into a world which caters for comparatively few men—a number varying between two and four thousand. What the supply must be for a whole army, and a moving one at that, I cannot even comprehend. There were ten women in each of these six large improvised kitchens, which were scrupulously clean. A head cook was in charge of each, and was responsible for the cooking, stores, and catering. One of these supervisors kindly showed me over the store-rooms and pantries, which were really wonderfully kept and staffed entirely by women, with the exception of a few butchers. "We are very anxious to introduce variety into the daily meals," the supervisor said; "the men complained bitterly of the monotony of their food." And that was the only claim she made of any suggested superiority over the man-cook they are replacing. That their efforts are highly successful and appreciated I had every opportunity of observing when later I visited the messrooms at dinner time, for the soldiers were unstinted in their praise. 1 saw the women making sausage rolls for the morrow's breakfast, and also watched the enormous joints being rapidly and most economically carved with the aid of a machine such as the large stores employ for cutting up bacon. "No waste," I remarked, as the machine sliced up the juicy meat to the last ounce. "We make every effort to avoid it," the supervisor said, and explained to me \ that by the very simple method of serv- j ing small portions first, and a second j helping to follow, if required, over £IOO j per week had been saved during the j preceding 13 weeks. Under the old svs-1 tern of over-generous and unnecessarily \

I large helpings; the soldiers would not ini frequently be obliged to leave half their ■food on the plates, with the result that | a great deal of really good food had j been thrown away, whereas to-day the . cold meat that is left can be used again ! to make tasty dishes. The girls, she told me, were drawn | mostly from the domestic, class, cooks and kitchenmaids, and had been organised chiefly by the military cooking section of the Women's Legion (under the I auspices of Lady Londonderry). They [receive £2O per year, "all found," | while the head cooks receive £4O. In one corner of the huge camp were the women's quarters, and these 1 was allowed to visit and to marvel at the ! thoughtful care that had been exercised in providing for their comfort. Each room was daintily papered and fitted with electric light, and contained two beds, two dressing chests, and chairs. Incidentally, I noticed that over almost every bed hung the photograph of. some brave fighting man. There were a separate messroom and kitchen for them, and a bright sittingroom, with comfortable chairs, pretty curtains, and writing tables. "We are made very comfortable, you see," she said, and went on to show me the bathrooms, provided with a constant supply of hot water. "And what of the hours?'' I asked. "Very reasonable," she replied; "from G.:'>o in the morning to 4.30 in the afternoon.'' Later, one girl with whom I was talking told me that before she "joined the Army" she had served as kitchenmaid in a large boarding-house, where she was expected to be "up and doing" from G in the morning till late at night. "And not half the freedom," she continued. Through the open windows, which threw square patches of sunlight on the floor, we could see a happy crowd of wounded warriors—British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand—seeking in the sunshine new life and strength to return to the battlefields and strike yet another blow for freedom. A man came limping down the long gravel path on crutches, and by his side, laughing, a strong young son of the soil, with his sightless eyes turned to the sunshine searching for light. The little cx-kitehenmaid beside me turned to her work with new fierce energy. "And who wouldn't lie proud," she said, "to do a bit for the likes of them?"