Dining Hall undergoes Hennessy Awards inspection

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott Pryor
  • 911 AW/PA
PITTSBURGH IAP ARS --  When people go to a restaurant, they expect to have a pleasant dining experience. If the experience doesn't match their expectations, they probably won't dine there again.
On the Unit Training Assembly weekends, Reservists who eat breakfast and lunch served at the base's Dining Hall are no less demanding.

"We want the time that members spend in the Dining Hall to be a positive experience," said Maj. Richard Frye, 911th Force Support Squadron operations officer. "We look at the one hour that members are in here as being important, from the food that they eat to the social aspect."

How well the Dining Hall is doing its job was evaluated Jan. 8-9, 2011, by a three-member inspection team from the John L. Hennessy Awards Program. The Hennessy Awards are presented to Air Force installations having the best food service programs in the Air Force. The awards have been presented annually since the program began in 1956.

The Hennessy Award is the oldest military food service award. The base has received the award nine times, the most recent being in 2008.

The inspection team consisted of two members from Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command. The third member represented the National Restaurant Association. The inspectors checked food safety, facility maintenance, customer service, food presentation, training, readiness and teamwork.

Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station was the first of four installations to be inspected in the Special Recognition Category, which covers the Air Force Reserve Command.

"We went into this inspection planning to win," said Major Frye. "We feel that we run a quality operation and that showed during the inspection."

The Dining Hall serves 250-300 breakfasts and 600 lunches per day during the UTA's and it takes quite a few people working together to make it happen.

"We feel that teamwork is our strongest area. We're all committed to the same goal: We're going to have the best dining facility," Major Frye said.

The award will be presented the third week of May in Chicago, Ill. The winner will receive a plaque from the National Restaurant Association.