Rick Watts, a Navy Project Officer with the Combat Feeding Division at the U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center in Natick, Mass., inspects the Breadbot, an automated bakery by Wilkinson Baking Co., for potential shipboard use. (Zachary Wheeler/U.S. Navy)

At a lab in Natick, Mass., a team of Navy civilians and contractors is testing new galley equipment and food recipes with one goal in mind: keeping sailors well-fed, healthy and mission-ready during long deployments at sea.

By combining food science, engineering and frequent feedback from the fleet, the team is working to modernize Navy galleys to extend endurance at sea aboard ships and submarines.

“The long-term goal is to keep the warfighters at sea doing what they have to do,” said Rick Watts, a Navy project officer on the Joint Food Service and Engineering Team.

After more than 20 years serving as a Navy culinary specialist, including time aboard submarines, Watts retired as a master chief and now works to solve everyday challenges in Navy galleys.

His team evaluates commercial kitchen equipment to determine suitability for shipboard use, including space constraints, constant motion, power supply and water requirements.

Brittany Koukoulous (left) and Rick Watts (middle), Navy Project Officers from the Combat Feeding Division, part of the US Army DEVCOM Soldier Center in Natick, Mass., demonstrate rehydration of freeze-dried products as part of a large-scale production test while aboard the USS Makin Island in San Diego. Also pictured is CSCM(SW/AW) Byron Green, Force Culinary Specialist Commander, Naval Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet. (U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center)

Smart technologies are being tested to address personnel shortages and training gaps in ship galleys. Automated tilt skillets, for example, are designed to simplify complex cooking tasks. With recipes pre-programmed into the system, the skillet guides culinary specialists step by step, producing consistent meals and reducing food waste.

A new deep-fat fryer, developed over the past year, is also being prepared for testing with the submarine force.

“Our No. 1 challenge is obsolescence,” Watts said. “We have older equipment, so we have to find new solutions for those.”

Looking further ahead, the Breadbot — an automated bread production system — is being explored for potential shipboard use. While promising for the future, Watts said it still has some “growing pains” and is not yet ready for implementation on Navy vessels.

Alongside equipment testing, food technologist Brittany Koukoulas works with Navy recipe development on the Functional Food Nutrition Intervention Team. Her team constantly experiments with ingredients to develop new food recipes that meet the “Go For Green” nutritional standards for sailors.

Her team is currently experimenting with freeze-dried ingredients to see if they can help extend ship endurance, allowing vessels to stay at sea longer without running out of food. Recently, she worked on a strawberry shortbread cookie recipe.

“There is a push on finding out some information about freeze-dried ingredients based on some conversations with the fleet,” said Koukoulas, who is currently conducting research and development in the lab.

Brittany Koukoulas, a Food Technologist and Navy Project Officer for the DoW Combat Feeding Division, prepares side-by-side comparison samples of beef enchilada casseroles, in the Navy kitchen at the U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center in Natick, Mass. (U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center)

Watts added that freeze-dried ingredients have been highly successful for the submarine force and now surface vessels are beginning to show more of an interest recently.

Developing and finalizing one food recipe can take two to five weeks before it is submitted to Naval Supply Systems Command for review and distribution to the fleet, according to Koukoulas. An average of 15-20 new recipes are implemented in the fleet each year.

Kitchen equipment takes much longer than recipes to reach vessels. Tests take about a week, followed by reports and reviews from NAVSUP and Naval Sea Systems Command, said Watts. Depending on priority, installation of equipment can take months or even years.