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91st MW named Hennessy Award winner

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sharida Jackson
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The 91st Missile Wing here was recently selected as the winner of the Air Force Space Command's 2009 John L. Hennessy Award in the missile food service category.

Established in 1956, the Hennessy Award program is an annual competition to determine the best food service program in the United States Air Force. This award is named after John Lawrence Hennessy, a hotel and restaurant executive who lead a special commission task group to improve military food service.

The award is based on an entire scope of an installation's food service. Evaluation factors include: food quality, management effectiveness, resource conservation and safety awareness. The Hennessy award is the highest distinction an Air Force food service program can receive and promotes food service excellence between military and industry experts.

"The entire missile chef corps in the 91st Operations Group exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism and dedication in this vital support to the nuclear mission," said Lt. Col. William Klug, 740th Missile Squadron commander.

The competition began at the wing level as missile squadrons were judged using the 91st OG Missile Alert Facility of the Quarter criteria. The winning MAF, E-01, earned the opportunity to host the Hennessy evaluation team and compete at the Air Force level.

"It was an honor to be selected to participate, it's a prestigious award and I'm happy to be a part of it," said Senior Airman Ernest Gaines, 740th Missile Squadron chef. Airman Gaines went on to say, "I feel proud to accomplish something this major early in my Air Force career."

On evaluation day, the Hennessy evaluation team inspected the kitchen and dining area of E-01. They also observed food handling and preparation procedures of the E-01 team. The evaluation team noted numerous "best practice" ideas in all areas of E-01's food service operations that will be shared with other missile wings.

"The 91st OG chefs spent countless hours mastering daily excellence to ensure the missile food service operation remained above the standard," Colonel Klug said.