Hollister native Jesus Rios has been in the U.S. Navy for nearly 13 years, cooking up meals and coming up with some new dishes for fellow sailors as Culinary Specialist 1st Class aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59).
Rios, who graduated from San Benito High School in 2007, didn’t have any cooking experience prior to joining the Navy but over time he started to develop a passion for cooking. Since then, he said he began experimenting with new recipes or modifying existing recipes his way and the rest was history.
The kitchen he uses includes a medium sized griddle, four commercial ovens, three kettles and a five-compartment steam table. Rios said it’s definitely challenging cooking for a ship full of sailors versus cooking at a restaurant or at home.
“It becomes more challenging when we are at sea because sometimes we don’t have all our ingredients or we don’t have as many fresh herbs or produce, so we have to improvise the recipes,” he said. “If we have heavy seas, everything is moving so we have to be extra careful.”
Rios is deployed aboard the USS Princeton, which is part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in the Arabian Gulf. They are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce.
Rios pointed out that being onboard the ship can be challenging but it’s interesting at the same time. He said that it’s almost like being in a small town where everyone gets to know the majority of the people including all of their likes and dislikes.
“Sometimes your coworkers become family and you treat them as such,” he said. “It gets really interesting once you get to know the capabilities of the ship and that makes you realize why we are the most powerful navy in the world.”
Being on a ship out at sea means Rios also gets to travel the world and he talked about Thailand being one of his favorite destination spots. He said he enjoyed all the different types of food, the scenery and the fact that it’s affordable.
But, his love for his hometown and the beautiful weather in Hollister are still always on his mind.
“One thing I miss is the family and cooking at home,” he said.
