How the UK's newest aircraft carrier feeds 1,600 troops a day, with regular steaks, roast dinners, and even kangaroo

"The last time I boarded the HMS Prince of Wales, the sailors kept talking about the food. "It's pretty good," said a Merlin HM2 operator on the captain's bridge, as I sheltered with a group of British experts from the unrelenting Singapore sun in June. His two squadron mates, tasked with guiding us through the aircraft carrier, eagerly took us through a full list of what they eat every day."

"AB1 Ockeem "Hibby" is gunning for a promotion. He was put in charge of Wednesday's lunch menu, which included salmon fillets, sausages with onions, palm-sized steak bakes, and crushed potatoes that you could shower with cheese, tuna, and baked beans. "You have to watch out for dietary requirements, that's the main thing," said Hibby, who joined the Prince of Wales' crew in December. "We have people who eat gluten-free, we have vegetarians, we have vegans.""

"The carrier acquires new dishes, such as kangaroo, from the places it visits. Chefs also learn deployment-friendly recipes from navies they visit, like gyros and kebabs from Greece. As the carrier approached Singapore last week, its galleys served Hoi Sin duck breast, glazed tofu, spring rolls, and keropok, or prawn crackers. To procure ingredients like these, the Prince of Wales resupplies when it docks, facilitated by agents stationed in port countries who work from domestic suppliers."

The HMS Prince of Wales provides varied, high-quality meals to crew and air wing staff, including steak, whole fish, curries, lamb, and fish and chips. Crew members regularly praise the catering and report few complaints. Junior chefs sometimes manage menus and operations and must account for dietary requirements such as gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan needs. Individual sailors are entrusted with planning meals that include items like salmon, sausages, steak bakes, and customizable sides. The ship acquires new dishes from ports and learns recipes from allied navies, and resupply occurs when the carrier docks via local agents and domestic suppliers.

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