Soldiers of Food: 5 Questions for Cooking with the Troops CEO and Chairman C. Blake Powers

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In the last several months, Britannica Blog has provided some perspectives on issues facing soldiers and their families, first in an interview with Taryn Davis, founder of the American Widow Project, and then with, Col. Charles C. Engel, director of the Deployment Health Clinical Center, on PTSD in war veterans. Today, we turn to an aspect with which most of our readers are probably unaware. I know we were. At the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas in October, there was a large military blogging contingent (David Petraeus even provided remarks via video, and the U.S. Army was a sponsor of the conference), and Britannica’s Executive Editor Michael Levy was drawn to the table of Cooking with the Troops (CwtT), an organization founded to provide support for the soldiers, particularly wounded ones, in unique ways. C. Blake Powers, CEO and chairman of CwtT, kindly agreed to answer a few questions for the Britannica Blog.

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Britannica: Where did the idea of Cooking with the Troops come from?

Powers: It came out of doing food events for the wounded, and discussions some of us have had with the troops in the field and elsewhere. Bob Miller [president and vice chair of CwtT] and I decided that we could do much more if we combined what I was doing with the barbecues and events he had been doing at Walter Reed since 2005.

Britannica: What is the purpose of CwtT?

We support U.S. and Allied troops, families, and caregivers through four focus areas: culinary events, culinary career transition, frontline support, and homefront support.

Britannica: Can you explain briefly what types of programs CwtT organizes?

Powers: Culinary events provide a change of pace and reinforce morale by providing good food and reminding them they are remembered and appreciated by the public they defend. For careers, we focus on finding ways to help those interested – particularly the wounded — find the right career path for them, so that they can make the most of their GI benefits. Frontline support is both direct and indirect, and homefront support focuses on morale events that teach cooking basics and how to do good food fast, rather than fast food. We are also doing specialty programs in partnership with others, such as Operation Fight Post Holiday Blues being done with the charity Pin-Ups for Vets.

Britannica: What is your relationship with the branches of the armed services? Have they embraced you and do you organize jointly with them?

Powers: Bob and I both had good relationships that we bring to Cooking with the Troops. You rarely work with the armed forces per se, but more with the individual facilities and often with other groups. We have a great relationship with the USO at Landstuhl, and with Malogne House and Walter Reed. As we expand events to other facilities, we hope to develop many more good relationships.

Britannica: Where do you see CwtT five years from now?

Powers: I see us doing dozens of food events in the U.S. with the help of volunteer chefs and others, so that we can reach both active duty and veterans. While our prime focus will remain with the wounded, we will be there for all who have served. We will do monthly events at Landstuhl, and we will be having people go forward to report from the front lines and do special events as far forward as possible. The relationships we are developing with culinary institutions will expand, so that we can send groups of interested people to experience the different possibilities for culinary careers so they can decide which, if any, they want to pursue. At the same time, we will have entrepreneurship bootcamps and mentoring programs for those wanting to go into a culinary business for themselves. On the homefront, we will have the partnerships in place to do as many morale/education events as possible.