Cooking for the troops
Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
BENTONVILLE — When most people think of serving in Iraq, they think of the armed forces, and they think of guns.
They certainly don’t think of chefs and nonmilitary personnel being in harm’s way, but there are many people living and working in the “ hot spots” — places of potential danger in a war zone — who are helping the armed forces by performing nonmilitary work.
Take, for example, Bryan Ogburn of Bentonville. He’s been in Iraq for nearly a year working with a subcontractor for the military. Ogburn, who is an executive chef trained through Le Cordon Bleu, a French culinary school, oversees the food service for thousands of troops in Iraq. He’s most known for his pastries, especially his hand-designed cakes. He’s made cakes for several special occasions, including each of the armed forces’ branches’ birthdays.
“ The Army’s is June 14, the Air Force is Sept. 18, Oct. 13 is the Navy, and Nov. 10 is the Marines, ” Ogburn said in a brief discussion from Iraq.
He also makes monthly cakes to celebrate all the birthdays of troops for each month.
Ogburn gets his ideas from the Internet and from the troops themselves. He uses a toothpick to draw in a design on a cake; then he fills in the design with colored icing to complete the magnificent picture. He also draws on his experience as a portrait artist.
There have only been two visits home for Ogburn to see his family — his wife, Maria, and their two children. Maria, an English teacher at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville, is able to share stories about her husband during her lessons. She talks to her students about work ethic and even about job training as she shares the specifics of his schooling, etc.
Living the life of a single parent while her husband is in potential danger has been tough, but it’s something she has learned to handle. Her family moved a lot when she was a child, and she draws on lessons learned then to help her now, Maria Ogburn said.
“ You can either deal with it or live miserably, ” she said. “ You have to choose to be happy. ”
Bryan Ogburn is expected to be home for a visit around Christmastime and possibly home for good sometime in the spring. Although he misses his family most, there are two things he also misses. One is the unique smell of the Ozarks. The other ?
“ Razorback football, ” he said.
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