Petty Officer 2nd class Frank Sanchez moves hot potatoes to chafing dishes in the crew's mess aboard the USS Louisiana. ANDRE J. JACKSON/MORRIS NEWS SERVICE

The USS Louisiana is a fleet ballistic missile submarine based in King's Bay, near St. Mary's, Ga. I boarded the submarine for a tour this summer, and came away with more than just a tasty recipe for Crawfish Etouffee. In the few hours I had, I received an education in organizing small spaces and gained gratitude for the men who are willing to serve their country under the sea.

Submariners call their subs "ships," and this nuclear-powered, 560-foot, 18,750-ton ship carries 24 Trident missiles and about 165 officers and crew.

The ship's measurements may make it sound huge, but quarters are extremely tight. The largest open space on the ship is the crew's mess, which also is used as a meeting and recreation room. When cleanup is done after the evening meal, sailors not on watch duty can view videos not yet available to the general public as well as old releases.

"Blazing Saddles is a classic submariner movie," supply officer Lt. j.g. Brian Michalek said.

Though the space is the largest on the ship, it's extremely small in comparison to the number of people it serves. Four one-hour sittings (breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight rations when at sea) are held each day. The duration of each meal is just one hour, and the room seats 40. Submariners don't waste time eating since about 140 crewmembers must be fed during that period.

The officers eat in the wardroom, and similar to the crew's mess, it also serves as a meeting and entertainment space. Wardroom dining has an etiquette that rivals nobility, from a seating order to a serving order, according to Lt. j.g. Michalek. "The captain always sits at the head (of the table), and the supply officer sits directly opposite. The executive officer, the No. 2 guy, sits to the right of the captain unless we have a VIP, then the (executive officer) will sit to the captain's left," he said. The remaining officers usually sit according to seniority. "Presentation silver" and cloth napkins are used. The officers make their salads and "everyone stands until the commanding officer (the captain of the submarine) comes down. When he sits, everyone sits," Lt. j.g. Michalek said.

Sailors pack the crew's mess for lunch aboard the USS Louisiana. The room is the largest on the fleet ballistic missile submarine. ANDRE J. JACKSON/MORRIS NEWS SERVICE

A wardroom mess specialist serves the officers, and that involves a special etiquette as well. Service always is from the left, while pick-up of finished plates always is done from the right, he said. And, when the commanding officer is done eating, the meal is finished. Lt. j.g. Michalek said that most of the officers learn to eat as quickly as the commanding officer. Otherwise, they wouldn't get to finish a meal.

The menu is the same in the crew's mess and the wardroom, according to Mess Management Specialist Chief Cary Robidoux, a chief petty officer and the ship's supply department officer.

"Lunch and dinner always include two entree choices, two vegetables, a starch, homemade rolls, desserts and a soup and salad bar," Chief Robidoux said.

Submariners get more than extra incentive pay for their rigorous duty. The Navy also provides extra money per man to feed them. "It's a morale booster," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Greg Harrell, who served six years in the White House kitchen and whose duties now include visiting submarines on brief tours to review the kitchen management and make sure they're keeping things ship-shape.

"Our job is to cheer up the rest of the guys," said Lt. j.g. Michalek. "This is their hour," so the mess specialists take pride in making the meals special.

A meal of fried fish, field peas, spinach and chicken and rice is served during a recent lunch on the Louisana. The sub's menu rotates monthly. ANDRE J. JACKSON/MORRIS NEWS SERVICE

Saturdays are pizza nights, and each Saturday for midnight rations an officer volunteers to go make pizza for the crew. Sunday's special feature is steak night, and seafood including shrimp, lobster and crab legs abounds when the ship is at sea.

Every morning breakfast includes eggs, cereal, grits, fruit and peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches. "We offer peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at every meal in case someone doesn't like what we're serving," Chief Robidoux said. "I can assure you that we will not let anyone go hungry."

Bacon, sausage patties and links, Canadian bacon and steak all are served on a rotating basis, as are waffles, pancakes and hash browns, he said.

Lunch on the day I toured the ship included fried fish and a chicken and rice casserole as the entrees, roasted potatoes, greens, field peas, homemade yeast rolls, bean with bacon soup, a full salad bar and chocolate cake. The dinner menus often include oven-roasted chicken, chicken cordon bleu, turkey, pork and ham, according to Chief Robidoux.

All the features of a commercial restaurant kitchen are available for meal preparation, in a kitchen ("galley" in naval terms) with little shoulder room. The kitchen is no larger than what you might find in the average home (10 by 12 feet, by my estimation), but it houses a bevy of commercial appliances that the mess specialists use to prepare about 600 meals a day when at sea.

The ship's mess specialists complete basic naval training, then many train at the Navy culinary school in San Antonio. They're assigned to a ship after completing sub school, Lt. j.g. Michalek said.

"The quality of our mess specialists is great here. They're very meticulous" Chief Robidoux said.

"They take great pride in what they prepare," Lt. j.g. Michalek agreed.

The Navy "has come a long way in food service over the past 14 to 15 years," Lt. j.g. Michalek said. And in the future, the cuisine aboard a Naval submarine is just going to get better, Senior Chief Harrell added.

"They're going to start recruiting culinary school graduates right out of school," he said.