The objectives of good food preparation are to conserve the nutritive value of the food, to improve the digestibility, to enhance flavor, to develop attractiveness of the original color, shape, form, and texture, and also to free the food from injurious organisms and substances.

Remember that your job as a Mess Management Specialist (MS) is of vital importance to your organization; people must eat to perform their assigned jobs. The end result of your work is for the food to be enjoyed by the patrons of your mess. To achieve this you must continually strive for perfection in providing palatable, wholesome, and attractive food.

This chapter covers some of the what, how, why, and when of food preparation.

BASIC GUIDES

The quality of food prepared in the general mess (GM) and private messes can be controlled to a great extent by the use of management tools. These tools provide guidance for the MSs assigned by giving them a clear understanding of why they are there and how they promote efficiency and quality. These tools are the General Mess Menu, NAVSUP Form 1080, Armed Forces Recipe Service (AFRS), NAVSUP P-7, and the Food-Preparation Worksheet, NAVSUP Form 1090.

FOOD-PREPARATION WORKSHEET

The first requisite to good cooking is an accurate knowledge of the items to be prepared. MS personnel have specific instructions on which foods to prepare, the recipe card number, the number of portions to prepare, time to start preparations, special instructions from the leading MS, and serving instructions. These instructions are furnished on the Food-Preparation Worksheet, NAVSUP Form 1090. See ~, 5-2, and 5-3.

Required Use

This worksheet is required for all GMs; however, GMs having fewer than eight MSs may use a modified food-preparation worksheet. GMs with only one MS are not required to use the worksheet.

Preparation

The information listed on the food-preparation worksheet becomes a written directive for passing information from the leading MS to the watch captains and other personnel involved in the preparation of the food. The reverse side of the worksheet maybe used to record temperature readings, meat breakout requirements, serving line and scullery temperatures, and any additional information required by the food service officer. The food-preparation worksheet is also a valuable record of the menu for the day. Information that is a "must know" for any person supervising a GM can be posted on it. This information includes the number of persons actually fed and the acceptability of specific menu items. Also, this information is useful when the leading MS prepares future menus and food-preparation worksheets. Refer to NAVSUP P-486, volume I, for detailed instructions on preparing the NAVSUP Form 1090.

The food-preparation worksheet is retained for a period of 1 year for afloat activities and 2 years for ashore activities.

Separate Worksheet

At most large GMs, food-preparation worksheets for each work center are prepared. This eliminates the necessity to include the vegetable preparation room, bakeshop, and meat preparation room on the reverse side of the food-preparation worksheet.

Modified Worksheet

GMs having fewer than eight MSs may use the modified NAVSUP Form 1090. GMs with only one MS are not required to use the worksheet. The modfied worksheet is explained in detail in the NAVSUP P-486, volume I.