How US Nuclear Submarines Cook Food UNDERWATER for MONTHS

0:00 Right now, somewhere deep beneath the ocean surface, a Navy cook is making dinner for 140 people in a kitchen the size of your bathroom. There are no windows, no ventilation to the outside, no grocery stores within a thousand miles. The nearest land could be a mile straight up. And the crew hasn't seen sunlight in weeks. Everything they'll eat for the next 90 days was shoved through a narrow hatch before they left port. [music] Every egg, every pound of meat, every grain of rice. Once that hatch seals and the sub dives, there are zero resupply options. [music] Zero. So, how do you feed an entire crew for three months straight in a sealed steel tube 800 ft below the surface? The answer involves some of the [music] most insane food logistics in the entire military. Before we get into the how, you need to

0:47 understand the why. Because food on a submarine isn't just nutrition. It's the single most important morale tool the Navy has. Think about what submarine life actually looks like. You're locked inside a metal cylinder with 130 other people. There are no windows. You can't go outside. You can't call your family whenever you want. You don't know if it's day or night. You work 6 hours on, 12 hours off, rotating through the same corridors, the same faces, the same fluorescent lighting for months at a time. In that environment, meals become the highlight of the day. They're the one thing that breaks up the monotony. They're the event that the entire crew structures their day around. A bad meal doesn't just mean a disappointing lunch.

1:32 It tanks morale across the entire [music] boat. A great meal can lift the spirits of 140 people for the rest of the watch. The Navy knows this. That's why [music] submarine food has a reputation for being the best in the entire military. Submariners [music] get a higher food budget per person than any other branch or platform. Roughly $15 [music] per sailor per day compared to about $12 on surface ships. It's not a luxury. It's a strategic decision. When your crew is operating a nuclear reactor and carrying ballistic missiles hundreds of feet below the surface, you want them sharp, focused, and in the best mental state possible. And that starts with [music] the food. So, let's go through this from the very beginning before the

2:18 sub ever leaves the dock. The food loading process on a submarine is one of the [music] most chaotic and laborintensive events of the entire deployment cycle. And it has to be perfect [music] cuz whatever doesn't make it through that hatch before departure simply doesn't exist for the next 3 months. Weeks before a submarine leaves [music] port, the supply officer and the lead culinary specialist sit down and plan every single meal for the entire deployment. [music] We're talking breakfast, lunch, dinner, and mid rats. The midnight meal served for the overnight watch for 140 people for 90 or more days. [music] That's over 50,000 individual meals that need to be mapped out ingredient by ingredient. They calculate exact quantities. How many pounds of ground

3:03 beef? How many cases of eggs? How many bags of flour? How many cans of corn? They factor in caloric requirements. roughly [music] 3,00 to 3,500 calories per day for crew members in physically demanding roles, plus dietary restrictions, food allergies, and which ingredients spoil fastest, [music] so those get eaten first. Then comes loading day, and this is where it gets wild. Surface ships have wide ramps and cargo elevators. Submarines have a hatch roughly [music] 2 and 1/2 ft wide. Every single item, every box, every crate, [music] every frozen turkey, every 50 lb bag of rice has to be passed down through that hatch by hand, one item at a time, in a human chain that stretches from the pier down into the belly of the sub. [music]

3:48 The entire crew participates, officers, enlisted engineers weapons specialists. Everyone forms a line and starts passing food. It can take an entire day, sometimes longer. They're loading tens of thousands of pounds of provisions through an opening barely big enough for a person to squeeze through. Fresh produce and dairy go in last [music] because they need to stay cold as long as possible. Frozen meats and seafood get packed into [music] the deep freezers first. Dry goods, rice, pasta, flour, canned goods get stacked into every available crevice on the boat. And I mean every crevice. Food gets stored under deck plates in the walkways. It gets stacked in torpedo [music] rooms. that gets wedged behind equipment panels. Canned goods line the floors of crew birthing areas to the point where

4:34 the floor is literally raised several inches. Sailors spend the first few weeks of deployment walking on top of their food supply and sleeping next to pallets of canned beans and boxes of frozen chicken. There's actually a term for this. Submariners call it walking on groceries. For the first couple weeks, the deck in most compartments is noticeably higher because you're literally walking on top of cans and boxes stored underneath the floor panels. As food gets consumed over the weeks, the floor gradually lowers back to normal. Veterans say you can roughly tell how far into a deployment you are by how high the floor is. Once every last item is loaded and accounted for, the hatch seals. And that's it. Whatever's on board is all you've got. Now, let's talk about where all this food actually gets [music] cooked.

5:21 Because the Submarine galley might be the most impressive kitchen you've never seen. Picture your home bathroom, maybe a little bigger. Now, imagine that's where you have to prepare three full meals and a midnight [music] snack for 140 people every single day for 3 months. That's the submarine galley. It's typically around 200 square ft, [music] give or take, depending on the class of submarine. Inside that space, you'll find electric ranges, convection ovens, a flat top griddle, a deep fryer, a steam kettle that holds about 40 gall, a commercial mixer, a bread proofing cabinet, and a small prep area. [music] There's no gas, no open flame. Fire is the number one enemy on a submarine, so

6:06 everything runs on electricity powered by the ship's nuclear reactor. The storage is engineered into every surface. Drawers are [music] spring-loaded so they don't fly open during maneuvers. Cabinets have latches. Pots and pans are secured so nothing shifts when the sub changes depth or angle. Every tool has a specific [music] place because in a space this small, one misplaced item creates a chain reaction of problems. Usually three to four culinary specialists [music] work the galley at any given time, rotating through shifts that cover all four meals. These aren't line cooks who applied for a restaurant job. These are Navy trained specialists who went through culinary school at Fort Le, Virginia, then received additional submarine specific training. On top of that, they learn how to cook without

6:53 ventilation to the outside, how to manage fire risks in an enclosed space, how to maximize output from compact equipment, and how to adjust recipes on the fly when ingredients start running low. The galley operates on an extremely tight [music] schedule. Breakfast is typically served from about 6:00 to 7:30. Lunch from 11 [music] to 12:30. Dinner from 5 to 6:30. And midrats, the fourth meal for overnight watch standards, gamero goes from around 11:00 p.m. to midnight. Between each meal, [music] the crew is prepping for the next one, cleaning equipment, checking inventory, and thawing tomorrow's proteins. [music] There's no downtime. The moment one meal is cleared, prep begins for the next. [music] It's a relentless cycle. And and here's what makes it even harder.

7:38 Ventilation. On a surface ship, cooking smells dissipate. On a submarine, [music] they don't. Whatever you cook, the entire boat smells, good or bad. Burned grease, overcooked fish, strong spices. The the whole crew knows about it immediately. The air recycling system will handle it eventually, but in the short term, one kitchen mistake can make [music] 140 people miserable. So, submarine cooks learn to be extremely careful about smoke, grease splatter, and anything that produces strong odors. [music] All right. So, what does a typical day of eating actually look like on a submarine? It's probably better than you think. Breakfast might be scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, hash browns, pancakes, or French toast, oatmeal cereal toast juice coffee

8:24 and fresh [music] fruit. At least for the first couple weeks when fresh produce is still available. The cooks are making hundreds of eggs at a time on that flat top griddle, flipping pancakes in batches, and running the ovens for biscuits [music] or pastries. Lunch could be burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, soup, a salad bar, again while fresh greens last, and me, French fries, [music] and some kind of dessert. Or it might be a pasta dish, or tacos, or a stir fry with rice. Dinner is usually the main event. This is where the cooks really try to shine. Steak [music] night, roast chicken, baked fish with lemon butter, meatloaf, pork chops, lasagna, surf, and turf. [music] These are real cooked from scratch meals, not military rations. Sides include mashed potatoes, steamed

9:10 vegetables rice pilaf cornbread dinner rolls, and always dessert. Cakes, pies, cookies, brownies. [music] The bakers on submarines are serious about their desserts because they know how much it matters. Midrats, the midnight meal, is a little more casual. leftovers from dinner, plus things like sliders, pizza, hot dogs, chicken tenders, or whatever the cooks can throw together quickly for the guys coming off or going onto the overnight watch. The meals follow a rotating schedule, usually on a 14 to 21day cycle, so theoretically, you shouldn't eat the exact same dinner more than twice in a 3 week span. Culinary specialists put genuine effort into keeping variety high. Different cuisines, different cooking methods, different flavor profiles [music] because repetition is the enemy of

9:55 morale. The crew eats and shifts in a small mess area that doubles as a meeting room, a movie theater, and sometimes a study hall. Tables seat maybe 30 to 40 people at a time, so meals rotate through in waves. You grab your tray, load up at the serving line, eat, clean your area, and make room for the next group. One thing submarines are famous for is their bread. Fresh bread baked daily, sometimes twice a day. The smell of bread baking on a submarine is legendary among veterans. In a sealed environment where you can smell everything, fresh baked bread is one of the best things that can happen to crew morale. Bakers often get up hours before [music] the rest of the crew to start dough so that fresh rolls are ready for breakfast and fresh loaves are ready for

10:42 lunch. Here's where submarine food logistics gets really interesting. Because no matter how well you plan, fresh food has an expiration date. And on a submarine, watching your fresh food disappear week by week is one of the quiet psychological [music] challenges of deployment. Week 1 through week two is the golden period. The galley is stocked with fresh produce, real [music] milk, soft fruits, leafy greens, fresh berries, and all the good stuff. [music] Salads are crisp, fruit bowls are full. Milk comes in cartons, not from a powder. This is when meals are at their absolute best, and the crew knows it. Everyone appreciates these first couple weeks because they know what's coming. By week three through week four, the soft stuff starts disappearing. Lettuce is [music] gone.

11:28 Tomatoes are finished. Berries and bananas are a memory. The galley starts leaning on hardier produce. Apples, [music] oranges, carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage. These can last several weeks if stored properly. Fresh milk [music] transitions to powdered milk mixed with water. Most of the crew can tell the difference, but they deal with it. Here's a trick the Navy has used for decades. Unwashed eggs. Eggs have a natural protective coating called the bloom. As long as you don't wash it off, eggs [music] can last for weeks, even months without refrigeration. Submarine supply officers specifically order unwashed eggs for this reason. It's one of those facts that sounds wrong, but is completely true. Some crews report having viable eggs well into month two.

12:15 By week 5 through week 8, the galley is operating primarily on frozen and canned ingredients. [music] Frozen vegetables replace fresh ones. Canned fruits show up at breakfast instead of real ones. The cooks have to get creative, relying more heavily on sauces, spices, and different cooking techniques to keep meals interesting. This is where the skill of the culinary specialists really matters. A mediocre cook will just heat up canned green beans and serve them next to frozen chicken breast. A great submarine cook will turn those same ingredients into a chicken stir fry with a homemade teriyak glaze that makes people forget they're eating canned vegetables. From week nine onward, you're deep into preserved territory. [music] Canned meats, dehydrated potatoes, powdered eggs, dried pasta, rice, and whatever the bakers can produce from

13:00 flour and yeast. Fresh baked bread becomes even more important during this phase because it's one of the few things that [music] still tastes genuinely fresh. Desserts also become critical morale tools. A good cake or a batch of fresh cookies can completely change the energy on the boat. If the mission gets extended beyond the original timeline, which happens more often than [music] most people realize, things get tight. The supply officer and the lead cook start recalculating rations, reducing portion sizes, slightly cutting meal options, and finding ways to stretch whatever's left. It's stressful, but it's what they're trained for. Feeding 140 people three meals a day, plus mid rats, creates a lot of waste. And on a submarine, you can't just throw it overboard. Well, not exactly. Food waste

13:48 is first minimized at the source. Portion control is tight. Leftovers get repurposed. Yesterday's roast becomes today's sandwich meat. Last night's rice becomes fried rice at Midrats. Waste that can't be reused gets processed through a garbage disposal [music] and trash compactor system. Submarines use something called a trash disposal unit or TDU. [music] Food scraps and other biodegradable waste get compacted into weighted cans, loaded into a disposal chute, and ejected into the ocean at depth. The cans are designed to sink and biodegrade on the ocean floor. Nonbiodegradable waste, [music] plastics, metals, packaging, gets compacted and stored on board until the sub returns to port or surfaces near a disposal facility.

14:35 Environmental regulations are strict. [music] The Navy follows international maritime laws about what can and cannot be disposed of at sea. Even 400 feet underwater, there are rules. Cleaning the galley is a daily religion on a submarine. In [music] an enclosed recirculated air environment, any contamination spreads fast. One case of food poisoning could take out a significant chunk of the crew. And on a submarine, every person is essential. Surfaces are sanitized constantly. Equipment is cleaned between every meal. Food temperatures are monitored obsessively. The health inspection standards on a submarine galley are some of the most rigorous in the entire military. Water is another factor. Submarines

15:21 produce their own fresh water through nuclearpowered desalination. So clean water is available, but it's not unlimited. The reactor's desalination output has to serve drinking water, cooking, cleaning, showers, and reactor cooling. Dishwashing uses carefully measured amounts. Nothing is wasted. This is the part that most people don't think about. Food on a submarine isn't just fuel. It's therapy. [music] It's entertainment. It's a connection to normal life. And the Navy leans into this hard. Special meals are planned into the deployment calendar from day one. Steak and lobster nights, pizza parties, themed dinners, Mexican [music] night, Italian night, Asian night. These aren't random. They're strategically

16:07 placed throughout the deployment to give the crew something to look forward to. When you're on day 47 of a 90-day deployment, and every day feels exactly the same, knowing that steak night is 3 days away gives you something to hold on to. [music] Holidays are taken seriously. Thanksgiving gets a full traditional spread. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry [music] sauce, pumpkin pie. Even if the turkey was frozen 6 weeks ago and the cranberry sauce comes from a can. Christmas dinner. Fourth of July cookout style [music] meals. These celebrations matter enormously. The cooks plan weeks [music] in advance, reserving specific frozen items and ingredients just for these occasions. Birthdays get recognized with cakes baked in the galley. Reinlistments, promotions, and milestone days on the deployment get acknowledged with special

16:53 desserts or meals. It sounds small, but in an environment where every day can feel identical, these food-based celebrations create structure and meaning. The psychology behind all of this is [music] well documented. Isolation studies, a including research done by NASA [music] for longduration space missions, have shown that food variety and quality directly correlate with crew morale, mental health, and job performance. The Navy has been running this experiment for decades aboard submarines, and the conclusion is clear. Invest [music] in the food and you invest in the mission. Some of the best known submarine traditions revolve around food. Halfway night marks the midpoint of a deployment and the [music] cooks go all out with a feast. Some boats do surf and turf Sunday. Others

17:41 have pizza every Friday. [music] These rituals become part of the boat's identity passed down from crew to crew. Let's talk about the culinary specialists themselves because these people deserve way more recognition than they get. Submarine cooks are officially rated as culinary specialists or CS [music] in the Navy. To serve on a submarine, they first complete basic culinary training at Fort Lee, Virginia, the same school that trains all Navy cooks. But then they go through additional submarine specific qualification which includes learning the boat systems, earning their submarine warfare qualification known as getting [music] your dolphins and passing a battery of tests proving they can operate in the submarine environment. That means these cooks don't just know how to make food. They know how the

18:27 reactor works. They know damage control procedures. They know how to fight a fire, [music] seal a flooding compartment, and respond to a reactor emergency. They're submariners [music] first and cooks second. Every person on a submarine has to be able to contribute to the survival of the boat regardless of their primary job. The typical submarine has about 10 to 15 culinary specialists depending on the class of boat. They rotate through shifts to keep the galley running around the clock. The lead cook, usually a senior enlisted sailor, often a chief petty officer, manages the menu, the inventory, the budget, and the morale impact of every meal decision. It's a high pressure role with very little recognition from the outside world. But inside the submarine

19:14 community, a great cook is revered. Crews will literally trade stories about the best meals they've had on deployment, the way other people talk about their favorite restaurants. A culinary specialist who can make canned ingredients taste like a home-cooked meal earns a level of respect that's hard to overstate. When these sailors leave the Navy, many go on to successful careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry. The skills they develop, cooking under extreme constraints, managing inventory with zero margin for error, feeding large groups on a tight schedule, translate directly to the civilian culinary world. >> [music] >> So the next time you open your refrigerator and complain there's nothing to eat, think about the culinary specialist serving aboard nuclear submarines right now, they're cooking three meals a day plus midrats for 140

20:02 people in a kitchen smaller than your bathroom with no windows, [music] no ventilation, no grocery runs, using food that was loaded through a 2 [music] and 1/2 ft hatch before they disappeared beneath the surface for 3 months. They're baking fresh bread every morning in a steel tube 400 ft underwater. They're turning canned vegetables and frozen chicken into meals that keep an entire crew mentally sharp and mission ready. And they're doing it day after day [music] after day without complaint because they know that on a submarine, food isn't just food, it's everything. [music] If this blew your mind, hit that like button and subscribe. Drop a comment telling me what meal you'd want if you were stuck on a submarine for 90 days. [music] I'll see you in the next