HC Deb 01 February 1940 vol 356 c1283W
Captain Plugge

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will make inquiries into the view widely held among serving soldiers, especially in the British Expeditionary Force, that, while the food is good, the cooking for the rank and file is often bad; and whether he will consider substituting good women cooks in appropriate cases for London chefs loaned to the Army?

Mr. Stanley

Soldiers in cook-houses at home are being replaced by trained cooks of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, as these become available. But this cannot be extended to Field Army units which may be engaged in operations or in areas where women cannot be employed, and the training of soldier cooks to meet the greatly expanded requirements is proceeding as rapidly as possible. There are no London chefs loaned to the Army, but I have no doubt that some of them are serving in it.