Tucking in

But one Kidlington Territorial Army chef - and Sainsbury's butcher - has been doing his best to prove otherwise.

Lance Corporal Frankie Fathers, 52, joined one of two teams of three Army chefs to cook against the clock for a group of hungry soldiers as part of a recent training weekend.

L Cpl Fathers, who has been a TA soldier based with the 7 Rifles at Slade Park TA Centre, Headington, for 19 years, was challenged to make two full meals for the soldiers.

The first, cooked solely from Army rations, had to include a hot and cold appetiser, a hot and cold starter, a main course, including potatoes and hot vegetables, and a dessert.

He had 2.5 hours to make ten meals from rations and a £5 grocery supplement - and came up with a feast of baked pasta, cottage pie, lemon mousse, flapjacks and sponge pudding with custard.

The second contest was to make a four-course meal, including soup, from a mystery box of ingredients.

The chefs set up tents and field kitchen equipment, including ovens, grills and hot plates, to cook up the feast.

L Cpl Fathers was not moving too far away from his day job - he works on the meat and fish counter at Sainsbury's, in Heyford Hill, Oxford.

He said: "I am a butcher by trade, so being a chef in the TA sits well with my full-time job."

L Cpl Fathers has been on exercise with 7 Rifles to Macedonia and Cyprus, helping serve up three meals a day for up to 500 soldiers. He said: "We were feeding the lads in the field and we used local rations."

Warrant Officer Class 1 Danny Mason said: "This was the first time they had taken part in something like this and it proved a real success."

He hoped the chefs would go on to compete against TA chefs from across the country at an exercise planned for June.

Capt Paul Woolman, the regiment's operational support officer, added: "We are currently short of chefs in the regiment and we are hoping that this demonstration might generate some interest in joining the chef's team."