I'm Corporal Melissa Miller from Calgary, Alberta.
I'm a cook posted to CFB Comox.
Being a cook in the military is never the same day twice.
One day you could be cooking out in the field,
the next day you could be doing a VIP dinner or a mess function
and you're putting out 5-star food for people vs. the mass production of a buffet line.
Seeing all of the happy troops that are full and ready to go back out into the field is great.
We provide the morale for the military. We feed everybody.
I love cooking for huge amounts of people.
I'm actually terrible at cooking for two.
There's leftovers in my fridge for days.
Not everybody can cook a meal for 500 people and say "I cooked that."
You know, that's a skill that is definitely very cool
and I know my parents are in awe when I cook Christmas dinner
and it takes me an hour-and-a-half and they're like:
"We start the turkey at 5 AM - why are you putting yours in now?"
It's just what I know how to do.
Definitely, there's challenges there.
You're going to learn all different aspects of cooking -
from some butchery, you're going to learn how to bake,
you're going to learn how to make salads, sauces.
And you have to learn how to make it taste good, too.
I decided to join the Canadian Forces because it looked like a great adventure.
My husband had been in the military for about 9 years -
he was always away on adventures so I wanted to get in on that action.
You need to care - you need to put the love into food
'cause if you don't put the love, people can taste the difference.
And I know that sounds crazy, but you can taste the difference in food
that's been prepared by somebody that loves their job and loves what they do
vs. somebody that's just doing it because they need a paycheque.