Welcome Home - A Podcast for Veterans, About Veterans, By Veterans
Welcome Home is a Willing Warriors and the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run project. The program highlights activities at the Warrior Retreat and issues impacting all Veterans. For questions or feedback, please email us at podcast@willingwarriors.org.
Welcome Home - A Podcast for Veterans, About Veterans, By Veterans
Cooking Up Stories: An Inside Look at the Lives of Coast Guard Chefs, Chief Danielle Hughes and CS1 Johnny Toman
Have you ever wondered what it's like to cook for some of the highest-ranking military officers in the country and even foreign dignitaries? Join us as we invite two phenomenal chefs from the Coast Guard, Chief Danielle Hughes and CS1 Johnny Toman, to our show. They share fascinating tales of their culinary experiences from their days in training at the Coast Guard's culinary program to their current roles in the Commandant's Flag Mess in Washington D.C. From preparing meals in diverse locations like Key West and Miami to chef Johnny's victory in the 2023 military chef of the year competition. Their journey is packed with unique experiences, challenges, and opportunities.
In the second part of our discussion, Danielle and Johnny opened up about the sense of camaraderie among military chefs in the DC area and their ambitious career aspirations. Danielle aspires to become a recruiter-in-charge, while Johnny is keen to stay the course and pursue the rank of Chief. Their passion for cooking and the unique sense of community within their military careers are truly compelling. Be a part of this enriching conversation to gain an insider's perspective into the world of military chefs.
Good morning. I'm Larry Zilliox, your host Director of Culinary Services here at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, and today I'm really excited to have two of my favorite military chefs here with me in the willing Warriors podcast studio. It's actually in the basement. This is a big day for us. They're here because they were helping Home Away from Home Dinner. We're doing all the prep. Today is Saturday and tomorrow, on Sunday, we have 55 wounded Warriors and family members coming for a home cook Thanksgiving dinner from Walter Reed and Fort Belvoir. So we call in all of our staff, sous chefs and a number of different military chefs. You guys missed Tirabassi, Cameron Tirabassi, from the White House. He was here this morning and it was just a great time today. But with us we have Coast Guard Chef Chief Daniele Hughes, who had just been promoted, which is great, and CS1 Johnny Toman, both Coast Guard. Danielle, let's start with you. Welcome and tell us a little bit about your career when you joined and how you got to be in the Commandant's Mess at headquarters.
Danielle Hughes:Thanks, larry, pleasure to be here. I started in the Coast Guard in 2012. So I just hit 11 years, not too long ago, and from there I went right into the Coast Guard's culinary program, our school out in Petaluma, California. Really great, really great training out there and from there I was fortunate enough to get stationed in Key West Florida, which was rough. It sounds good. So we get to sail over the Caribbean, central and South America and then from that unit I went to another boat in Miami where I was essentially the only I was the only chef on board running my own restaurant cooking for a crew of 12. So I would make the menu go shop, the menu cook plan, do it all myself In the Coast Guard.
Danielle Hughes:It's super unique to our branch where you're cooking everything from scratch and you have the ability to use locally sourced ingredients and make whatever you want. And it differs from the other services where and the Army out in the field they're boiling bags and on a Navy carrier with a crew of 5,000 people are not cooking from scratch. So we have that unique opportunity in the Coast Guard, which really is just awesome experience so far. And from there I applied to the special command aid program which I'm in now and got the opportunity to come to DC, work in the Commandant's Flag Mess with Johnny over here and yeah with that is just. I mean, the opportunity in DC for chefs in the military is remarkable, there's nothing like it. You know, we get to work with every branch hand on hand. We've been to every chief of staff's house you know, worked with their chefs.
Danielle Hughes:We get to work in the White House all the time, the Pentagon, the vice president's quarters. It's amazing. You know I don't have a culinary degree, so I've gotten everything through the service, you know, getting to go to the Army school down in formerly Fort Lee, now Fort Gregory Adams, where their training is getting to work with all them there, and it's quite an incredible experience so far.
Larry Zilliox:Was that where you got Enlisted? Aid course, yes, through there.
Johnny Toman:Yeah.
Larry Zilliox:Okay, and for our listeners who aren't aware, the Enlisted Aids are the chefs for generals, flag officers and all the way down through the Department of Homeland executive dining room, which is because the Coast Guard falls under Homeland Security. During peacetime, that's manned by Coast Guard chefs, so they take full advantage of that. Yes, so, johnny, tell us a little bit about where you started, how you got into this career field.
Johnny Toman:So it started when I was about 14, actually, and then you know, just washed and a couple little mom and pop restaurants and then sort of working out a bakery, loved it. Then had an opportunity to go to school. So I went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park where I got my degree in culinary arts. And then I went to West Hampton and had an opportunity to own and operate my own restaurant. So I did that and then I realized I was losing my hair and I needed to do something else with my life.
Johnny Toman:So, and just the stress of restaurant life in the civilian world was a lot it's hard, yeah, extremely it's a grind. Yeah, it's something. Yeah, I thought, oh, something's easy. Let me just join the military. I think I can do that. I thank my college for that, because it was very based off of veterans coming back from World War II that didn't have places to work. So they were like, oh, you guys could become chefs and so forth and so on.
Johnny Toman:So and it was pretty militant and I didn't realize that at the time. But then I was like I'm gonna join the Coast Guard because it had the best culinary program and I was like, yeah, so me and Danielle kind of share almost the same career path. I went to a big white boat in Florida and then I went to a small boat in 87, the patrol boat that's not the one that she was on, but also in Cape Canaveral, florida and then obviously joined the Special Command Day program and that's been it so far. I'm about to hit 10 years in the Coast Guard and it's been a wonderful journey. I mean just, I feel like I've learned more as a chef, a leader, a mentor, a friend in the Coast Guard than I would ever have if I just decided to stay in the civilian world.
Larry Zilliox:Sure, I know that you guys compete often and you are the 2023 military chef of the year. That was that. Just was that? Because somebody just woke up one day and said let's make Johnny the chef of the year, or didn't you have to compete for that?
Johnny Toman:Well, we do have puppet masters where we were, but they you know Danielle won Chef of the Year in 2020. And then me and Danielle proceeded to continue to be a part of the team for the last two years, where we've had trials and tribulations, but all of that led to amazing success for the Coast Guard culinary program and the Coast Guard culinary team Right. With that said, obviously, you go to Fort Greg Adams, formerly Fort Lee, and it's called JCTE, so joint culinary excellence training. It's one of the biggest culinary competitions in the Northeast that the ACF put on.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah.
Johnny Toman:And, yeah, you cook with fellow branches and you compete for Chef of the Year. It's called a mystery basket and it's in the F4 category, the ACF manual, and it's three and a half hours long and you have to do a main starter, a super salad, main course and a dessert all within that time and you don't know what you're going to get when you go into it. Probably the first time in my life cooking. I just blacked out and then, all of a sudden, food was on the table.
Johnny Toman:Ok, by feel yeah, all by, feel OK, and I was lucky enough and had the privilege of being successful at that and for Chef of the Year for 2023.
Larry Zilliox:Right, and it's stiff competition. I mean, each service branch is fielding teams that have been working through the year to perfect their dishes and their teams. So it's a pretty tough competitions. It's as hard as anything you see on any of these reality TV shows for sure. What is the team? The Coast Guard team for 2024 and the like.
Danielle Hughes:It's looking pretty stuck, larry. Another unique thing about the Coast Guard's culinary team is, like you said, these other, the other branches we compete against. They're typically all stationed together the Army, they feed out of each Fort Hood and Fort Bragg so they get to work together year round. And then the Coast Guard culinary team comes together 10 days before. The competition Never met. They're all flea cooks from all over. We'll bring a couple team members back for continuity and then they just the Coast Guard's always commended on how well we just work together and it's just same thing as like being out to sea and doing these missions. We tell just everyone is there, has your back and same thing out there competing. But yeah, the team is looking really good this year Should have a pretty good chance to go back and for Pete.
Larry Zilliox:I've been meaning to get down there for that. Take some of the chefs here down to watch that. We definitely have to arrange.
Danielle Hughes:Absolutely should. We'll get you some tickets and I'll take a moment. But Johnny and I actually have an even more unique opportunity with competing. We'll actually be heading to Stugart Germany, in February to compete in the IK Culinary Olympics this year.
Larry Zilliox:Oh wow, that's great, and how does that work? Is it just the two of you, or are there going to be a couple?
Danielle Hughes:more so at the same. So we're on the team, it's Yusica, it's the United States Army Culinary Arts Team because the Army funds it. So it's a joint culinary team. And you get picked up on this team, you compete and apply to be on it down at that same competition and then they recruit and scout and then we just got together in March at the competition and from there we've gone on. We've competed in Canada at their national competition and we've gone to Michigan competing at a competition up there. And yeah, we're just doing train ups almost every single month down in Greg Adams and we'll leave in January, be over there for about a month in country in Germany, and that's not bad.
Danielle Hughes:No, it's not bad. It's surreal, it's just. It's incredible. You know, the opportunity that the military offers for chefs, not just cooks and chefs in the military.
Larry Zilliox:And just so our listeners are clear, being a chef at your level is a lot like being a professional basketball player. A lot of people can play basketball, but not everybody can play professional basketball. And I know there's a lot of people out there that think, okay, wow, that sounds great, I want to join the Coast Guard, I want to join the Army and I'm going to be a chef. There's a lot of work involved. It's hard work. It's not. Oh, okay, you've been in four years, you can go to be a chef for the general. It's not like that. I mean, you could spend your entire career as a flea chef or in the Army. I mean, when I look at what Fort Bragg has as a program, it's huge. They've got restaurants, they've got food trucks, they've got chow halls, they've got field units.
Larry Zilliox:I just want the listeners to understand the caliber and the level. The quality that Johnny and Danielle are at is not something that is easy to achieve. Danielle, you just came from a period of time working at General Milley's residence as one of, I believe, four of his personal chefs at his residence. What was that like when you're serving dinner not only to the chairman of the joint cheese but his family, and then I'm certain that there were a lot of guests for dinner often. But what was that experience like for you?
Danielle Hughes:That was, I mean, one of the most rewarding experiences with, out of doubt, you know the current state of affairs we're in in the world. You know it was a very tough job, that position, without a doubt, you know, being the chairman and overseeing all the armed forces. So not a job I'm envious of, without a doubt. But you know we get to keep them gone and nourish with food. That's what we do. So you know what I mean.
Danielle Hughes:Johnny and I have this conversation all the time, like whenever I make something. So I'm just look at them, I just can't wait to see their reaction. Like, more than anything, like what you make with your hands, someone's gonna put inside of them and nourish them. And to know that you're doing that for the man who's the senior military advisor to the president, calling the shots. He's out there doing the king's business and you get to take care of him and make sure he's fed well. And you know these relationships that he's fostering with. You know meeting with Congress constantly and the entertaining that we do with a lot of very, you know, big hitters, foreign dignitaries we're constantly hosting. You know counterparts globally. It's amazing just to even say and be in the room with these same people you know, and you're there because you just happen to cook food really well.
Larry Zilliox:Well, and I know they enjoy it. I just know they enjoy it and it's I know, and it's not just you there too. One thing I've learned from the Enlisted Aid Program and all of the military chefs that come out is that it's a close-knit community here in the DC area, so when you need help, there are other Enlisted Aids from other houses that will come over and help and it's almost like a community project in the sense that you're not there pulling your hair out, trying to get dinner for 20 out by yourself or just the two of you. But, johnny, what's that camaraderie like here in the DC area?
Johnny Toman:It's amazing.
Johnny Toman:I mean just the first month of being actually at the Flag Mass with Danielle it was, you know, just welcoming.
Johnny Toman:You know it was definitely a culture shock coming from the fleet and then having to adjust to being back on land, and then just the community that she built by just going out and meeting all of the other Enlisted Aids and being able to be a part of that.
Johnny Toman:And then building my own network of friends and going to quarters and you know, like it's just. It's a sense of family, because you'll be able to call on somebody and nine times out of 10, they'll pick up and say they can make it, they can't make it, or they can be there for two hours, they can be there for this amount of time and they know that they can do the same thing for us. We would do the same thing for them, sure, and that's pretty amazing for me. I think that there's a big sense of family when it comes to it and it's like a really crazy gaggle of group of people, but we're there for each other and we're all super, super talented. I think I've learned a lot from just being in DC and around other people who are like equally as crazy as I am when it comes to just like wanting to make food great, make atmosphere inviting, just have fun while you're doing it.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah, so, yeah. So what's next, Danielle? Where do you see yourself in three years?
Danielle Hughes:In three years. So I actually just recently it's funny you ask I put in my submission to become a recruiter in charge to go run my own recruiting office and I do a bunch of it. Now to where you know we're hurting with retention and getting folks to join the military in general, every branch, I believe that we're all at least 30 to 40 cent below comp of where we're supposed to be. So numbers are hurting out there and you know, with what I do, what you know what we do, and you know my experience of you know, having everything that I've gotten in culinary from the military training, I just I feel like I have a pretty good story to get out there. And you know, share with others and you know, multiply the workforce and help get us back to where we need to be numbers wise and recruit the same talent, you know, give people the same opportunity that I was given, you know.
Larry Zilliox:Okay. What does that mean, though? Okay, if they say, okay, you got the job, where do you go? Or do you end up in Wichita, Kansas?
Danielle Hughes:I've actually got some rough locations on there, larry. I got Nashville, tennessee, panama City, florida. Yeah, vegas is on there, so it's a good looking list. I'm really, I'm really excited. I will see and then eventually for me I'm looking to go to the officer side of things and become a warrants support division officer and have that experience being enlisted, going into the officer world. And I think you know as much as I do enjoy being a chef in the military that I feel like I could, you know, be feel a lot of help out there to the fleet and you know running a division and you know giving that experience that I've had as enlisted, bringing that to the officer world. Just let them yeah, we'll see Get another career out of Coast Guard there you go.
Larry Zilliox:So Great. And Johnny, same question to you. Let's say three years, five years down the line, what do you think?
Johnny Toman:Well, as of right now I'm trying to do one more tour in the enlisted community. Mm-hmm, and what does that look like? Is that a two-year assignment or? Um, typically there are four years, all right. And then let's say, if you advance, you can advance to. Let's say, I advance to chief in that position, then it gives me the opportunity to just like Danielle is doing right now. She advanced to chief and she was able to short tour and leave the, leave the wonderful job that she was at, and then go pursue the recruiter in charge position and other jobs that are also available for E7s in the Coast Guard.
Johnny Toman:So for me everything is kind of just like up in the air. You know, I love what I'm doing now. I'm kind of Danielle tells me this all the time whenever I feel indecisive, it's like I got to be where my two feet are, you know, jerk, and that's where I'm at right now. I'm kind of just like enjoying the podcast with Larry and I'm. You know, dreams are made of it, you know. But you know, I wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for just being where I am in the present. And you know, knowing that what comes in the future for me is what's supposed to be there for me.
Johnny Toman:And though I love the military, I love what it's given me and you know I love to say, but the military has made me fat and happy, you know, like I'm truly, truly, truly blessed in a sense where I don't have to worry about what job I'm gonna have next, because no matter what job I have in the military or my future in the next five years, I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be where I'm gonna be and I'm gonna be happy Because if it has to do with cooking, I mean I do it on my off day, I do it, I'll do it. You know, I stay up until midnight thinking about menus and texting people randomly. They need some counseling. Yeah, I think so. They really do. Thanks, larry, you're not the first to tell me no, no, no.
Larry Zilliox:Well, the postcard hopefully has a robust mental health.
Johnny Toman:Yeah, yeah, stephens, creamp Well thanks, larry.
Larry Zilliox:I will say that one of the things, too, that our listeners need to know is that this year, we surprised Steph Danielle with her award as visiting chef for the year for 2023, which was such an honor for us, because you're always willing to help and whenever we need something, you'll say, okay, I'll come out, I'll do it, and you guys have brought so much joy to the families when you come out and prepare a meal.
Larry Zilliox:I remember talking to a young army guy cooked dinner for, and he could not believe that somebody who was the chef for the chairman of the joint chief said taking time to make him dinner. He just couldn't believe it. He thought we were falling his leg and I said no, this is for you. It's our way of giving back to you and your family for what you did and what your family's gone through. So it's you guys that make the visiting chef program a success. You really do, and we can't thank you enough for all you do. I appreciate you taking the time to sit down with me today, you know. Thank you so much for coming.
Danielle Hughes:Thank you for having us, larry. Thanks, without a doubt. Yeah, this is, and of all the events that we do in DC in, there are a lot of them. We always just talk about how great the, you know, william Warrior program is down here and, without a doubt, the most rewarding, you know, we outreach program that we get to do.
Larry Zilliox:Yeah well, we really appreciate it. And so, for our listeners, we'll have another episode next Monday and fight bright and early 0500. If you like to get up early and listen to podcasts. But until then, thanks for listening.
