How would you go fishing during World War Two if you were serving in the Pacific? According to Chattanooga culinary and cookbook author Kent Whitaker you would have had several options. “You can use the mounted guns on your PT boat in an attempt to knock down some flying fish… or you could start lobbing hand grenades into the water, take cover, wait for the explosion and then gather the dead or stunned fish that float to the top of the water.”
Tanks, airplanes and submarines are the normal stuff of World War Two books. Now there’s a book about the subject that veterans of all wars love to hate… chow! The two fishing examples come from interviews with World War Two veterans conducted by Mr. Whitaker for his newest book.
Bullets and Bread is hitting store shelves across the country and is also available from online retailers. The book’s bread and butter are the memories that WWII veterans shared with the author concerning the best, and worst, chow served to them during the war. “Some of the stories are pretty funny. Many have a Cary Grant and Tony Curtis war movie feel to them,” Whitaker said. “On the other hand, some of the stories are sad, reflective. After all, it was war.”
Bullets and Bread chronicles the massive effort that took place in order for the United States to feed the troops as well as civilians on the home front during the war.
"It was a culinary pulling together in an effort to win the war,” Whitaker said. “Most people know the stories about how factories in the United States went from building cars and radios to building tanks and planes. That same effort took place with food. The United States was transformed into the leader of global food production and packaging. Coke, Spam, doughnuts, coffee and candy companies exploded in growth and popularity during the war. These companies also mastered corporate branding and marketing.”
Bullets and Bread, covers victory gardens, rations on the home front, field rations in Normandy and the Pacific, cooks and bakers schools, food on PT boats, battleships and even special rations developed for pilots and aircrews. Whitaker also includes information on military ration development for both Allied and Axis countries as well as favorite foods of world leaders, generals and even Hollywood stars.
“I collected stories from veterans and I worked with museums and historians across the globe,” Whitaker said. “There’s info in Bullets and Bread from the RAF museum, The USS Alabama, The Royal Catering Corps as well as from museums here in the Chattanooga area. But everything comes down to the people behind the stories. I love the fact that scientists working for the war effort used items from their local Piggly Wriggly grocery store shelves to make military ration prototypes or that the Queen of England was in love with Tabasco brand hot sauce.”
Whitaker admits that Bullets and Bread seems that it is a step away from his normal genre of culinary writing but says that in many ways it’s not. “I’ve always tried to include stories, history, insight and more into my cookbooks. None of them are just page after page of recipes. But this book is more about World War Two history from a culinary standpoint,” Whitaker said. “People lived with awareness that the war was being fought overseas, in factories, on the farms and local Victory gardens. People were standing in line for staples such as sugar, butter and coffee. Royalty, movie stars, the President, prime minister, and civilians went without. Everyone tightened the belt-line. It was a huge team effort.”
Just in case readers and fans of Whitaker’s other books still need a recipe fix the author says that he has them covered. “I included a section with nothing but recipes from military cookbooks, period cookbooks as well as some mock food recipes from the times,” Whitaker said. “They’re not my recipes but are really interesting and fun to read over.”
Kent Whitaker is the author of eight cookbooks ranging from hometown cooking with a culinary history twist to titles for NASCAR tailgating and barbecue. He has also written and illustrated two books for children. Is a trained USCG AUXCHEF and is the winner of the Emeril Live / Food Network Barbecue Contest.
Bullets and Bread, 9781933909752 2013, History Publishing Company, is in bookstores nationally and is also available online at
www.thedeckchef.com as well as on websites such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
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Kent "The Deck Chef" Whitaker
Culinary books worth reading. Visit Kent online at www.thedeckchef.com or follow on twitter twitter.com/theKentWhitaker