MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- Marines are known for being the best of the best. But being best of the best in the Marine Corps two years in a row is a significant accomplishment.
Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s Anderson Hall has accomplished this feat.
Anderson Hall’s Commitment and dedication to the best quality of food and service won its well-earned recognition with
the 2008 Major General W.P.T. Hill Memorial Awards Program award for the best military/contractor mess hall.
“We don’t do it for the award,” said Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Yantosca, mess hall manager, Headquarters Battalion. “We don’t care about the award; we do it for the Marines and Sailors who live in the barracks and have nowhere else to go - that’s our goal. That’s what we do it for. If we never won anything it wouldn’t matter, because those service members are why we work so hard.”
Anderson Hall features more local recipes than any other chow hall in the Marine Corps, Yantosca said.
“We use as much creativity as we can to keep our menu different and to keep patronage up,” Yantosca said. “A perfect example of that are the personnel that have commuted rations. In the last quarter alone we made about $91,000. That says a lot. Name me one place on this base, or this island, that you can eat a full, quality meal for $4. You can’t, unless you want a happy meal and I don’t know many Marines who would consider that an option.”
Yantosca insists a key factor in the success of the mess hall is the importance of noncommissioned officers leading Marines. Having them work alongside each other, teaching, guiding and working is something that builds new Marines into proficient food service specialists.
Small-unit leadership is the backbone of the Marine Corps, said Sgt. Kentrell Allen, food production manager, Combat Service Support Group 3. Being in the kitchen alongside them and guiding them, teaching them everything possible to be the most effective food service specialist they can be, is how Anderson Hall won again, he said.
“That’s something we stress; the mess hall is where they learn the basics, and build from [military occupational school]. I think a big problem with the Marine Corps contracting civilians is losing focus,” Yantosca said. “Having the Marines cook is how they learn their job and how they provide quality food, it’s a team effort.”
Yantosca boasts that even with a 90 percent ratio of Fleet Assistance Program Marines employed at Anderson Hall and the demanding deployment rotation, they still maintain their proficiency and dedication to their job and patrons.
By empowering junior leadership, Anderson Hall not only became the best, but the most efficient dining facility. Being able to do the job, and well, wherever the Marines are, theater of war or garrison, Marines can rest assured they have a good meal waiting for them, Yantosca said.
“To be successful in any operation, you need your Marines to believe in the mission,” Yantosca explained. “If I tell these Marines to take care of the fellow Marines and Sailors who live in the barracks and have nowhere else to go, they’ll believe in it and why? Because that’s our mission, not awards. And while its good to be recognized for our hard work, I prefer the service members’ recognition.”
Yantosca is not alone in seeking patron appreciation. The junior service members share his belief in the mission.
“I take a lot of pride in the food we make,” said Lance Cpl. Destiney Taylor, food service specialist, Headquarters Battalion. “I look forward to seeing fellow Marines smiling and hearing their compliments.”
With the best mess hall in the Marine Corps, service members should reconsider a meal that costs more and is unhealthy, when the option of a passionately made, healthy, low cost meal is always here.