Food Network stars Bob and Moe swap barbecue pit for Navy galley in Japan

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A seafood boil wasn’t the only taste of home awaiting members of this overseas military community Thursday as two Food Network stars served lunch and swapped stories with sailors, families and base employees.

Barbecue pitmasters Bob Trudnak and Moe Cason — stars of the “Bob and Moe BBQ Show” — joined base commander Capt. Jonathan Hopkins behind the serving line at the Commodore Matthew C. Perry General Mess as guests lined up for a monthly community lunch.

For Cason, the visit was also a return to his Navy roots.

The former boiler technician, who served aboard the battleship USS Missouri, said the discipline he learned in the service still influences how he approaches barbecue.

“The military is near and dear to me, but especially the Navy, since I served, and I know how important it is to give back,” he told Stars and Stripes at the event. “When I’m putting briskets on, it’s a schedule, and the Navy helped reinforce that.”

Trudnak said his goal during visits organized by Armed Forces Entertainment is straightforward: bring overseas troops joy through food.

“To be able to give service members a taste of home, it’s amazing,” he said. “To see the smile on their faces, it warms my heart.”

Bob Trudnak, of the "Bob and Moe BBQ Show" on Food Network, serves a guest at the Commodore Matthew C. Perry General Mess on Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Aug. 20, 2026. (Jonathan Baez/Stars and Stripes)

Guests line up outside the Commodore Matthew C. Perry General Mess for a community lunch featuring the stars of the "Bob and Moe BBQ Show" at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Aug. 20, 2026. (Jonathan Baez/Stars and Stripes)

Armed Forces Entertainment funded the chefs’ visit, which coincided with the mess hall’s community lunch. The event opens the galley to family members and other guests who do not ordinarily have access.

Diners chose from chicken cordon bleu, beef Wellington and a seafood boil with potatoes, corn, shrimp and crab legs. The seafood proved the most popular.

After lunch, Trudnak and Cason posed for photographs and chatted with guests.

Events such as this break up the daily routine, reconnect homesick residents with familiar culture and boost morale, said Momoyo Harris, the base’s Fleet and Family Readiness director.

“Being overseas, we miss out on a lot of things, and sometimes you miss home,” she said at the event. “Eventually, things become like the movie ‘Groundhog Day.’ These events that we provide to help with morale play a huge role.”

Waiting outside the mess hall, military spouse Iberia Uwakonye said she was pleased to see famous faces returning to the installation as they had before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The morale has been low,” she said. “I am really happy that they are bringing back celebrity guests.”

Harris said more community events are on the way.

“It took a while for things to get back to normal,” she said, “but we have a lot of things lined up.”