Submarine schoolhouse

The U.S. Navy has long valued on-the-job training for its cooks and bakers. Here, two restaurant chefs learn from a submarine cook as the new boat prepares to take to sea for the first time

KITTERY, Maine (Oct. 22, 2008) -- Chef Dan Dumont, left, Culinary Specialist Nate Baker, and Chef Chris Soulder prepare lunch for the crew of the Pre-commissioning Unit USS New Hampshire (SSN 778). Dumont and Soulder, chefs of restaurants in the Portsmouth, N.H., and Kittery, Maine, area, were aboard New Hampshire to experience what its like to cook for the ship's crew.

New Hampshire will be commissioned Saturday, Oct. 25, during a ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. New Hampshire is the fifth submarine in the Virginia class, the first major U.S. Navy combatant vessel class designed with the post-Cold War security environment in mind.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Roadell Hickman.