John L. Hennessy Award 2011 Published Oct. 26, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Mariah Tolbert 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The 4th Force Support Squadron food service specialists at the Southern Eagle Dining Facility and the Flight Kitchen were inspected, Oct. 19, 2011 for the 2011 Air Combat Command John L. Hennessy Award. The Hoover Commission created the Hennessy Award as a way for government food service and hospitality workers to compete for the best facilities and teams. Always in the forefront, the Air Force was the first of the Armed Forces to implement the program in 1953. "The award has been around for 20 to 30 years," said Chief Master Sgt. Joseph Romeo, Headquarters, Air Combat Command services functional manager. "It is an annual recognition award for the Air Force's premier food service operation. The evaluation is based off of the civilian industries that have done things like this for years. It allows Air Force food service professionals to participate in a friendly competition to become the best of the best. Winning this award gives the winning base bragging rights." Several factors led to the dining facility and Flight Kitchen's selection to be considered for the award to include the cleanliness of the facilities, budget management and compliance with worldwide menus. "We evaluate the operations with a checklist," said Senior Master Sgt. Rosa Aumack, Headquarters, ACC food service superintendent. "[The checklist] breaks everything down per section including the food and how it looks on the line, the cleanliness of the facility and how the personnel handle themselves." The highest weighted category is kitchen operations, where they were scored on areas such as storage practices, inventory control and progressive cooking. As with any food service business, proper food storage and quality is of the utmost importance. While the leadership at the dining facilities encourage creativity, menus and ingredients must stick to a standard. However, the staff does have the option of creating new ways to prepare the recipes. "Sometimes the customer gets tired of the same menu, so it's a task or challenge for the food service members to create something new and tasteful out of what they have," Romeo said. If Seymour Johnson wins the Hennessey Award at the ACC level against Moody AFB, Ga., the staff of the dining facility and flight kitchen will be re-evaluated early next year to compete at the Air Force level. If Team Seymour wins at the Air Force level, some of the food service team members will have the option to go to Chicago to accept the award, Romeo said. "Getting the chance to go to Chicago is a great opportunity for the members," Romeo said. "At the event in Chicago, there tends to be many well-known chefs that food service members will be able to meet and network with." Seymour Johnson was one of the first stops for the Romeo and Aumack. The results of the ACC evaluation are speculated to be released in December.