(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-05 11:54

Peng Guangli, supply chief with an artillery company, says the processing machines boost efficiency and liberate chefs from heavy manual work.

"Outside the PLA, it's almost impossible to have so many kinds of food on a daily subsidy of 11 yuan per person," Peng said, but the nutritional and dietary goals are "set rules" that must be met.

Hot Meals and Fat Discounts

Chef Zhang Yong, a non-commissioned officer, rises at 5:00 a.m. Half an hour later, Zhang, in a truck with three "duty buyers", goes to a wholesale food market three kilometers away.

After intense bargaining with sellers, they return with a ton of vegetables, including 200 kg of tomatoes at around 8:30 a.m.

"Vendors like selling to us and giving us a fat discount because we buy in bulk," says Zhang.

They have a long-term meat supply contract with a slaughtering and processing plant so as to reduce costs and guarantee a supply of quality pork.

Cheaper animal proteins such as chicken, duck and aquatic products are an alternative to expensive pork to balance nutrition, Zhang says.

Previously in Zhang's regiment, all subordinate companies prepared meals independently. "Smoke from 17 chimneys choked passers-by when they were all cooking."

Since the end of last year, the regiment set up a supply service center that integrates resources and prepares meals for all companies.

"We prepare food for the entire regiment, which reduces energy consumption and pollution," says Jia, adding that in the first half year they saved about 60,000 yuan (US$8,000), up 40 percent from the same period last year. Jia would not say how much they spent in the first half year.

A "finance supervision committee" comprising soldiers from different companies, performs key roles in purchasing food, auditing, stocktaking and supervising food preparation.

Zhang says the committee is also in charge of discussing menus, noting soldiers' favorites and restocking.

Most staff in the supply service center are non-commissioned officers with special cooking skills.

With twice-yearly training sessions from star chefs at the PLA Beijing Command Chef Training Center, Zhang and comrades can prepare meals satisfying both stomachs and taste buds for 150 people in an hour.

Feng says chefs are especially trained to quickly prepare good, hot meals for personnel conducting field operations and military drills.

"Chinese people are accustomed to hot meals. An exhausted field army longs for a good, hot meal. Cold sandwiches and bread are neither popular nor durable," says Feng.

The PLA has 74 chef training and rating centers, with more than 10,000 professional chefs graduating annually.

Even in distant areas and remote garrisons where military supplies take days or even weeks to arrive, soldiers can enjoy specially preserved shrimp, rice pudding, vegetables and moon cakes, says Feng.

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