Culinary Art at Stonington – 1973-74 – Roger Scott
All FIDS at Stonington had to take their turn a rota basis cooking for the whole base. One day cooking was followed by one day gash (cleaning the base, keeping fires going, washing up etc) the frequency depending on how many were on the base. There were certainly different attitudes to the day cooking. Some would essentially ‘grin and bear it’ not being enthusiastic with anything to do with a kitchen.
Continued from Stonington Page, 1973….
Others would welcome the day with more enthusiasm and get out the limited range of cookery books to see what they could do. The only cooking I had done before was catering for myself or occasionally two in a bedsit at University. Hardly preparation for cooking for 14 hungry men on a coal fired AGA.
However I always welcomed a challenge and usually tried to stretch my knowledge and abilities. One of the issues was that most of the cookery books assumed ready access to a good and varied supply of items from the local shops. All the food on our base at the time was either tinned or dehydrated (no freezers in those days) and exotic items were in short supply. In fact many of the basic ordinary cookery items were in short supply.
I fancied making ‘Vol au Vents’ with a selection of different fillings with a few tinned vegetables on the side. I had never in my life before either made or even used puff pastry but I knew what it should look like when cooked. Back home puff pastry was always out of a packet (Jus-Rol comes to mind) but now it was down to basics. I was reassured when reading the recipe that one of the secrets to a good result was a cold slab to make it on and regular cooling of the pastry in a fridge. I had no fridge but it was below zero outside and the kitchen work surface was certainly cold enough. For those that have not made it before puff pastry involves making a basic pastry with lumps of butter in it and then folding and refolding many times to get a pastry made up of multiple layers. Anyhow this was done and I then cut out the vol au vent shapes. All looked good.
After cooking I was quite surprised with the result in that they actually looked like vol au vents. Whenever I do talks about my time down south I always include the before and after photographs with the result that over the years I have had quite a few offers of marriage!
Roger Scott – Surveyor – Stonington, 1973 & 1974