Why Do Submariners Get Better Food Than The Rest of the US Navy? Part 1 

It’s simple. Because in a submarine, the chef has nowhere to run.

I teach high school. Years ago I had a very bright, motivated student who was also homeless who really wanted to be a high end chef. After researching his options he ended up enlisting in the USN to pursue his dream as a culinary specialist. Last time I heard from him he was 8 years away from retiring at age 38 with a nice chunk of savings. He also had earned his bachelors and was working on his masters in hospitality management thanks to the Navy.

After 6 years in, I can tell you one things for sure: every cook in the navy starts out with the same ingredients, but you get wildly different results. I’ve seen cooks take pride in their work and make the absolute most out of very little. I seen cooks that could burn chicken on the outside so bad it looked like charcoal but it was still raw AND frozen in the middle. Both were impressive, just at different ends of the spectrum.

Why do submarines get better food then the rest of the Navy? Simple, you are in a very small, enclosed container where the smallest mistake is almost certain death. Where you got to hot bunk and maybe get lucky with once a week showers. Where everything smells like reprocessed air, fuel, and sweat. Finally, you got a lot of big guys who can make life very interesting for people who they are ticked off with. Yeah, having good food is the least the Navy can do.

The submariners got a lot of perks because they were one of the highest risk positions in the navy.

I remember being told a story, how my grandfather would deliver fresh hot bread to the submariners at Fremantle Western Australia (Brisbane / Sydney was the pacific side, and the Indian Ocean patrols were conducted from Fremantle). Grandpa was a WW1 vet, and Gallipoli survivor. After being crippled by a shell on the Somme, he spent the rest of WW1 in a British hospital, and returned to WA. He spent WW2 baking bread for the sailors based out of Fremantle.

My first assignment on USS Sea Devil, SS-400 in 1963 was mess cooking. The head cook told me "We are on the most rusted, busted, f'd up submarine in the U.S. Navy. Our job in the galley is to make sure the crew is happy to be here." We had a tradition of knocking on the bread locker door before opening it so the cockroaches wouldn't stampede and upset the trim of the boat.

Well I know they do and for a long time as one of my best friends in HS had a brother who was an officer on a boomer. I’d say they get the best food because it is one of the few things they can do for moral given the constraints of essentially being stuck living where you work and an extremely small space too.

Also, many kudos to Battleship New Jersey for traveling to the many different navy ship museums in the USA and presenting information on them. That is some solid mutual support you guys provide the ship museum community, and I hope that other ship museums will do the same on their RU-vid channels both with Battleship New Jersey, as well as the many other ship museums out there. This is truly the definition of a rising tide lifts all boats, as it comes to the difficult complex challenges that ship museums all face. Well done on this too!

When you have a hundred guys living in a broom closet, you don’t want to serve a bad meal… you just don’t…..

Thanks for covering Cod. A friend was recently a radio operator there for Amateur Radio Museum Ship Day. He seemed impressed.

CSC on my first boat almost went to mast after he threw out a bunch of good food to make room for 2 tons of fajita meat. It was literally 2000 lbs of beef, 2000 of chicken. The cooks had to use it in every meal they made. Almost 2 years later when I left, they were still using it.

Really enjoy these excursions to other museum ships. How about some overseaps trips, maybe Canadian or the Brits?

It is one of the few "Luxuries" if you can call it that & they deserve it. It takes a special person who can live 90 days locked up with no windows or port calls. PJ

I'm a ex-bubblehead.. yes we had some good food.. Also some not so good. But so Thankful for the cooks who did it all

I was on subs, and on my boat we had a cook who told me this story. Said he was 18 and sleeping on the streets in New York City. Said early one morning he was sleeping in a doorway when someone woke him up and handed him a bag from McDonalds. Turned out it was a Navy recruiter. The guy brought him food for a week and found out he had no criminal history and no drug use, just a kid with a hellacious home life. Signed him up and he chose to be a cook because the guy promised him he’d never have to go hungry again.

The bit about instant coffee reminds me of my dad. He was a kid during the war and went through rationing and grew up knowing government surplus food. One of them was instant coffee. And because it was so much cheaper and more available after the war that's what he drank, every day, for some 40 years as he worked as a machinist. At the shop he'd have instant. At breakfast he'd have a quick cup of instant. After coming home, he'd have instant coffee after dinner because that's what he was used to drinking. After he retired we moved and he went to drinking drink brew coffee like what was normally "on tap" (so to speak) at home. After getting adjusted to it he couldn't stomach drinking instant coffee ever again. He at one point said, "I don't know how I drank that shit for nearly 4 decades..."

Submarine Veteran, USS Georgia 729 SSBN, I can attest that in my time in the 90s. The food was very good. We were fortunate enough to get a cook which served on President Reagan's Kitchen. When came to the boat, the food went through the roof. Today I still miss what he called his Doubly Good Chicken Soup. It was such a staple on the boat that extra freezer space had to be alloted for the extra chickens needed for the soup. It was so popular sailors would wake up to get it and in the end. It was the only item on the menu for days schedule. Later.

When I was on the USS Texas SSN 775 the Texans cheerleaders came to our Christmas party and met us on the pier when we pull into Galveston, Texas for commissioning.

I just toured the USS Cod 2 weeks ago. felt cramped even with old about a dozen other people touring. I cannot imagine it during a wartime patrol.

Many years ago I worked at a mining company in middle of nowhere Western Australian desert town fully owned by the mining company and every one of us totally agreed that walking into the mess hall for breakfast and smelling fresh baked bread still warm when we got it was amazing and lifted our sprites because we all where isolated in the middle of nowhere doing dirty work and getting paid very good. The company looked after us very well. I can see why isolated submariners got the best food.

One of the US Subs in the Pacific found out when they got out on patrol that the frozen meat they had been issued was of the poorest cuts. Someone had made a swap.

Whatever the sub boys got was no comparison to the what the big chow halls in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 00's were serving. All of your usual buffet comfort foods, meat carving station, made to order items like omelets, cheeseburgers, quesadillas. Fully stocked 20 ft long salad bars with proteins, a dozen different kinds of fresh fruit peeled and sliced right in front of you. And just about anything you want to drink, even near beer. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Great interview! George looks like he was an amazing cook.

WW2 submariners also had their own R&R hotel in Pearl Harbor, the Royal Hawaiian. My dad, who put many years in the submarine service from WW2 to nuclear fast attack boat, was a great cook. He would make up a quick meal after coming off watch. I miss his cooking!

The meals weren't always "the best", but the FS's (cooks) always seemed to do their best and it was appreciated. Preparing meals for a crew

If only the navy cared as much about the submarine’s torpedoes as they did their food.

Nice to see USS Cod get some exposure :)

Ryan, when are you going to rotate one of NJ's turrets?

I used to live in Cleveland. The Cod is such an excellent museum. Intact hull.

I was just there a couple weeks back awww man. Well hope you enjoyed the Land and hopefully you gave the Mather some love. The bow thruster is very neat.

I wake up at 1am sick and this is what I choose to watch :) Thanks for being a lil calm in my storm tonight!

My most memorable meal in the Navy was when I was stationed on the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Just before we went in the yards for the 90-95 overhaul, they were trying to use all the food in the freezers before the ship was turned into swiss cheese. For midrats one night while we were out at sea, they served a special pizza....lettuce pizza. Crust, cheese, sauce, and lettuce. The Navy is also where I was introduced to the various grades of beef. I helped load a couple of pallets of food stores which included many boxes of "USDA-Utility-Not fit for officer consumption"

I remember following COD as it went thorough their dry dock process recently. I’d like to visit that boat , behave been on Drum multiple time and visited the sub at Intrepid once as well.

Thank you. Good stories.

My question always was, on a 688 we stored cartons of eggs under deck plates in the tunnel - the “passage between crews mess and the machinery spaces. (A)Did the reactor sitting next to my eggs keep them fresher longer? (B)Or did I just not care because I saw them coming out of shell and it made me happy? I still say “A” - even if it just sub legend.

I remember visiting a russian Tango class sub in Hamburg port and I was really surprised how in such a confined space they managed to cook several meals per day for dozens of sailors. It seemed almost impossible, even if you assume probably not so high russian standards.

Yes. Waking up to freshly baked bread was the best part of being underway. The smell of dozens of bad eggs one morning, on the other hand was TERRIBLE.

You have to talk about the toilet paper supply issues for subs (USS Skipjack)

My Grandfather Elmer Gerdeman was a Machinist's Mate/Boiler Tender on an LST and a Fletcher Class (actually THE Fletcher) in WW2. While he served in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters, I remember him telling me whenever he put into Pearl Harbor he would look for submarines where he had friends on so he could eat their superior food relative to what he had on his ships. He's the biggest reason I did NROTC and became a Naval Officer...

Every day is Tuesday on the boat. . That's actually a saying from naval aviation. We called the carrier 'the boat.' If you have to drive it, it's a ship. If you have to land on it, it's a boat.

I was in submarines for over twenty years and you guys have missed an essential fact that makes submarine food better and that is the commanding officer on a submarine eats the same food as the crew so if the galley serves up a stinker the captain and the chief's get it too. On surface ships, the officers and the senior enlisted usually have their own cooks and get the best of the supply of food on board. The other reason is of course the arduous nature of the duty. On more than one occasion I have gone a week without anything more to eat than rice and ham and nothing to drink but coffee and water because of the nature of our mission or our mission changed. This along with weeks without a shower. Submarine MS's have always taken great pride in the food they served to the crew. They earn their dolphins like everyone else. They are submariners!

This bloke was great! Love hearing the yanks pronounce it “Bris-bane” we call it “bris-bn” but I reckon we are probably incorrect on that one. Always enjoy listening to the stories about the day to day life of sailors.. always make me smile; just a bunch of guys doing their best Greetings from AU

I was surprised by how big those submarines are, im sure it may change by class of submarine, but i took a tour on the USS Bowfin and im 6'7" and could move around pretty freely.

When talking about the cooks. Reminded me of that one sub crew that "Requisitioned with great guild" some ice cream equipment from a BB I think it was?

It was Canadians that took the u boat with coffee cups…and coke bottles but from a corvette not a sub and only did so because the guns couldn’t depress enough. Hmcs Oakville if you want to read more on that story.

True. I was on a SSBN and we got a great meal every 6 hours if you wanted to eat. Props to our cooks.

Could have been a lot longer. Very interesting. Thanks.

On the SSBN, Sonar was right above the galley, they used to being us the Sticky Buns..Yummm. They also used to give us, Seafood, Crab!

I worked the mess hall at cherry point nc in 1970. I remember making mid rations. Did it for air crews.

Because they are slightly insane and you want to keep a bunch of brave and slightly insane folks who are in a submerged confined area for long periods of time happy? I say that in the nicest way possible because when it comes down to it they are kinda awesome yet slightly insane folks… lol

My Dad was a Motor Machinist Mate on subs out of Brisbane during WW II. He said they would raid the "emergency" food (crackers, canned goods, etc.) for snacks during the patrol. When they got towards the end of the mission, about all that was left aboard to eat was Spam, powdered eggs and powdered milk, all of which they hated. Meanwhile, my Mom was building Victory Ships and Grandma was building Vultee trainers here in Southern California. What with "meatless Tuesdays" and so on, Mom and Grandma were thrilled when they could get Spam. Returning after the war, Dad refused to eat Spam ever again but the rest of us were always fans.

Because they get no sunlight and no fresh air for the most part of the journey 😅

Being a radioman/electronic warfare operator on an improved Los Angeles-class submarine (688I) had its perks. The navy required 2 exits from every space on the submarine, so our emergency exit was a hatch directly over the galley dish sink. We nicknamed it the "cookie hatch" since the cooks would often pass us freshly baked cookies and bread. We also used the "cookie hatch" to prank the "NUBS" (non-useful bodies, new and unqualified personnel) with practical jokes since they would be right below the hatch washing dishes.

The way he says 'they were having to feed MUTTON to the crew' like its the most terrible fate had me laughing as an indian who considers mutton a delicacy😂

I miss the huge meals after field days, they would make these amazing slider burgers! I was on the USS OHIO and USS NEVADA from to 2001 to 2005. We would even get crab legs occasionally! It was a great experience and would absolutely do it all over again.

Small pantry and storage = more fresh food. And the budget is higher...and the cook can't hide..

Could tell so many chow stories from my 7 years on the boats. But maybe this one is a little different. First boat was the USS SeaLion in 1964 was APSS-315 out of Norfolk and St Thomas (the WWII subase) ,one of two troop transport submarines, the other being USS Perch APSS-315 in the Philippines and . W were reconfigured with the forward engine room being the munitions locker and other stuff for troop support. The SeaLion trained UDT and Force Recon as well as this new outfit called SEALs. There were 70 crew and often 65 troops on the boat. The cooks did a fantastic job with the 7 sittings it took to serve a meal. And we had three meals, 6, noon and 6 as well as midrats. The Mess Cooks got up at 4 AM and went to be at 2 AM when we had troops aboard. But Pappy Benton, our Chief Cook (and Navy Boxing Champion) made sure everyone got plenty of good food, maybe not fancy but no one went hungry. And the ice cream machine was always ready to fill your bowl. And yes, we had racks for many to sleep in, bit the troops slept with their head turned to the side, because if you laid with your head in. It’s normal position your nose touched the head of the guy above you. And junior guys hot racked, you just found an empty bunk and jumped in. I had the good fortune to have my own upper bunk, but the hinges were broke on the mattress platform and when the ship rolled (and subs do that a lot) my bunk would slide out into the passageway, and when we rolled the other way, it would slide back in. I learned to sleep with my hand around the 600 pound air line into the ballast tank to keep from falling on the deck. So many more sea stories I could tell. And then I left the tourist cabins alongside the state highway and .hey stored potatoes. Another time…

Been to USS COD many times. Hi Paul!! Great boat, great tour!

WHat a boring vieo. Skipped along and died of boredom. Im posting from the afterlife to warn others.

To be honest all military chefs are really good. There wasn't one Army post I went on where the mess hall wasn't good as hell. Especially the southern posts❤❤❤

They would have to be well fed to prevent diseases like scurvy. Also to compensate for a lack of fresh air and sunshine (Vitamin D). I did 10 years on surface skimmers, they couldn't pay or feed me well enough to do submarines, even though I have had a lifetime interest in them

Coffee Cups- I had the chance to go on some Liberty Ships that were waiting to be scrapped. There were barrels of crockery

Wah wah. It was only better in minor ways. Chow was normal. King Crab legs one time. Personally, my favorite was Taco Mid Rats which was a meal that happened at midnight. Mendoza invited me to sit at his table with the other two Mexican American's on board & have some sauce sent from home. Even Mendoza was sweating. Ah...good times. It was hairy business tracking another sub. Not to mention sleeping next to a Mark 48 torpedo.

My Pop was a tin can sailor, and he always said I would have the best chow in the Navy when I reported to my sub. I never ate on a surface ship, so I could not compare the two. I always thought the Navy should be able to bring the best food to any ship or sub that goes to sea. Great video. (Pops also said I would never paint as I was not a Boatswain's Mate. He got that one wrong. Someone has to paint that bilge.)

90% Silly banter. MAYBE 10% meaningful historical info.... Pass....

I was just thee a few weeks ago with my son and a couple of members of his Trail Life troop. It was well worth the visit!

I always wondered if they had Chilli night on subs?

I served on an SSN, 1977-81. Food was very good. At sea submariners do not have underway replenishment. Fresh fruit and vegetables were gone in a week. Or in a day. No more fresh anything till after your patrol

More information that Inside Edition level place provide. Last few I have watched were 1 minute of the kitchen and the rest about how cool submarines are.

4:59 man, instant coffee always tasted bad for me if cream is not added. Brewed (normal or drip) was the best to taste without sugar, cream or milk. But , yeah, it's war and they have to be practical. Though nice to know even submariners didn't like instant coffee either.

I find this uhhh uhhh video uhh very uhhh distracting to uhhhh watch. uhhh. yeah.. uhhh.

Trust me not all Submarines have better food, or at least the One I was on vs chow on an Aircraft Carrier. Started my career on subs, which made every other job I did later on a dream in comparison imo 😅

This can has been on the Stingray since Korea..... whatsamatter, it still looks like Creamed Corn...... ITS SUPPOSED TO BE DEVILED HAM!!!!!!! Best Navy movie ever.....

Maybe they copied the tradition from our German navy. Our U-Boats also have the best food.

The fresh stuff was consumed after about 3-4 weeks, depending on the item. So, they ate good for at least the first month of deployment. After that, it was frozen or reconstituted items. Today's subs can stay submerged for 1-3 months, depending on the mission. Even though a nuclear-powered sub can remain submerged longer, there's only so much food you can pack into the galley.

Back in the 1960's when I was on a submarine we would throw bad chefs to the octopus

I could very much care less about the intro & who you are. Please quit with name drops.

Speaking of subs and recent news, how does Big J pump water? A sub uses a complex ballast tank system that uses the weight of the ocean to drag the sub under, then it uses a super complex POWERFUL compressed air system to move sometimes over 1000 tons of water out the sub. They literally do "blow the tanks!" I looked into our USS Pampanito Museum air system, it was scary! I never realized just how much stuff could go wrong! HAHA! Can Big J do any fancy pumping tricks with her triple bottom?

Dang! I wish I could've met you on your tour! I live about an hour away. The cod is a really cool ship! I've visited on a few occasions.

Was Coke or Pepsi ever served to Submarine crews during WW2 ?

Former MS1(SS) FBM sailor reporting for duty...

That was a fun and interesting talk there. Thank you for doing an episode aboard one of the sub museums! Hope to see more. Well done!

The kitchen of this battleship should be open and have food for the visitors that will be really something

Because morale is important when everyones stuck in a tube together

I never drank coffee before my first boat...20 years later 😬

i was 7 years usaf here, and we all knew that was the best food in the military, and nobody begrudged them that.

Army always have better food! We burn so many calories we wolf it down. Check out the fat bodies on a Navy base based on an Army base. When your hungry it's the best food.

My dad was a world war II submariner. And he absolutely could not stand mutton he said that was absolutely the worst thing that could ever feed you

It wasn't just on world war 2 submarines that simultaneous to diving or in our case changing depth, they were baking a cake. As commented in the video, the cakes were always one inch on one side and burnt, the other side, 2 or 3 inches and raw. Overall the food was good, not delicious but good.

I would think it would be obvious that the food is better to keep moral up since they could be stuck inside for great lengths of time without being outside.

I've actually been on the Cod. Awesome ship

Interesting point about Nescafe , it's very popular in the UK. although nowadays there are many other brands as instant coffee an easy alternative for tea if you feel like a change . Subs are very cramped and claustrophobic so morale is important .

The thing is that a submarine is a closed atmosphere. It develops a smell at its own no matter what they do. However, the long hard life required some benefit. Food is a major motivator for sailors.

That Chicory product is still available and loved by our oldies.

BTW - Brisbane, Queensland, is pronounced Briz-Bun. Briz-bayne is in California, is well inland, and only has a fraction of the population of my home city.

now you know how to make a level layer cake on a submarine

Oi! Chef what flavour bland have we got today, Red or Brown? (Ketchup or Brown Sauce)

I joined the AF, my cousin the Navy, he went in as a cook. He volunteered for sub duty, they sent him to a ton of schools so he could take what they had and make it a feast. What happened, he ended up going to France to the Cordon Bleu chef school, came back and became the personal chef to one of the top sub admirals and the top brass on base. Served his time, went back home, ended up in San Fransico at one of the top motels as head chef in time, made a ton of money, and never went to sea. I got electronics trained and went everywhere but home. Should have been a cook!

I have seen videos what submariners get fed on a certain day of the week (spoiler: frozen deep-fried stuff and pizza) and I wondered, if this is the better food, what the rest of the navy eats.