Air Force Taitung base chefs Huang Wei-kai (黃韋凱) and Chen Ming-hung (陳明宏) earned kudos from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and an award from the Ministry of National Defense (MND) not because of any military-related contributions, but rather for their stewed pig’s feet.
Huang, a 29-year-old staff sergeant and Chen, a 26-year-old corporal, are both chefs at the pilots’ restaurants at the Air Force base in Taitung. During a visit to the base in June last year, Ma was impressed by their stewed pig’s feet and his compliments about their cooking made them the center of attention.
At an event organized by the ministry last month, Huang and Chen, along with three military professionals, were named “remarkable military personnel” for their expertise and contributions to the military. Huang and Chen’s stewed pig’s feet were also presented at the event.
PHOTO: HSU SHAO-HSUEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang said the secret to their stewed pig’s feet lies in how they handle the ingredients prior to the actual cooking. During the process, a special sauce must be applied to the pig’s feet to increase the smell of the food itself, he said.
“The whole process takes a long time. Also, the recipe for the sauce is my secret, which is classified,” said Huang, a Taitung native.
In addition to stewed pig’s feet, Huang said he can handle a banquet with at least 10 different dishes at the same time.
Prior to joining the Air Force, Huang was a trained carpenter.
Huang graduated from Taitung’s Kung-tung Technical Senior High School in 1999 and joined the Air Force as a career soldier in September that same year. He began as a corporal after completing training in 2000, and his first job with the Air Force was a combat position at Taitung base. He was transferred to the kitchen following a regular military personnel shuffle in March 2003.
“I’d never worked as a chef before and it was a challenge for me,” Huang said. “I discovered, however, that cooking is interesting and I actually became addicted to it.”
Huang retired from the Air Force in 2005 and continued his work as a chef. His first chef job was at Taitung’s Ginza Hotel, where he learned how to prepare more Asian dishes. In 2006, he switched gears to Taitung’s Formosan Naruwan Hotel, where he became a senior chef with expertise in Western dishes.
Huang returned to the Air Force on Jan. 1 last year.
“Compared with a similar position in the private sector, the military pays better and offers a better package,” Huang said. “I was glad to return to where I belong and do something I am familiar with.”
Huang was regarded as a mentor for Chen, who said he’d never thought about cooking before meeting Huang.
“I was a tennis player, but now I am more into cooking,” Chen said.
The corporal, a Kaohsiung native, graduated from Kaohsiung’s Shu-te University’s Department of Leisure, Recreation and Tourism Management in 2007 and joined the Air Force to complete his compulsory military service in October the same year. He said he signed a contract with the ministry after he’d met Huang.
“I encouraged him to stay with us because he may not be able to find another job that’s as decent as in the military,” Huang said.
Chen became a career soldier in June last year.
“I find cooking interesting. I enjoy working here,” Chen said.
Chen said he spent a lot of time with Huang studying and developing new flavors and dishes for pilots, which has been one of his favorite tasks.
“We encourage him to develop new dishes. When he does, this new dish needs to get the thumbs up from more than 100 personnel at the base, which is kind of challenging,” Huang said.
The two also contributed by cooking for flood victims in Siaolin Village (小林), Kaohsiung County, in the wake of Typhoon Morakot in August.
Chen’s contract with the military will expire in 2011. He said he has yet to decide what he will do when the time comes, but he is sure he will continue to work as a chef — even if he were to leave the military.
Huang, however, said he decided to complete his 20-year contract with the military.
“That was my decision when I returned to the service. It would be a cool thing if I can continue to contribute to the Air Force as a chef,” Huang said.
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