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By Guy Basnett, 13/12/2009
CELEBRITY chef Marco Pierre White saluted Britain's bravest by dodging bomb blasts and enemy gunfire to cook a slap-up Christmas feast for the troops in Afghanistan.
The fiery Hell's Kitchen star joined the News of the World in a daring Yuletide mission as we flew out FIFTEEN CRATES of traditional British grub to our men and women serving on the frontline.
Marco Pierre White meets troops in Iraq
And instead of dicing the carrots, TV Marco found himself dicing with danger within hours of arriving in Afghan capital Kabul.
After delivering his precious cargo to the kitchen at Camp Souter - home to more than 200 Brit troops - Marco was settling in to his hotel room when he was rocked by a roadside bomb exploding just 300 yards away, at a spot he'd passed only an hour earlier.
Later he had to dive for cover AGAIN as his party came under fire while touring city landmarks.
With the grim tally of troops killed in Afghanistan this year now at 100, shaken Marco told us: "It was an incredible experience. To hear the boom of that bomb go off so close and then to hear those gunshots ring out really drives the message home. We are in a warzone and lives are at risk - they're the dangers our soldiers are facing EVERY DAY.
"These are young men and women, who will spend Christmas miles away from home, and far from their families and loved ones, in difficult and dangerous conditions.
FAGGED OUT - Marco takes a cig break
"I'm always amazed by their courage and hope that by bringing some of them a small taste of home, I can show that people back in the UK are thinking of them."
And the heroes of Camp Souter really deserved their treat. As part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force their risky tasks include ferrying key military figures around the city, and acting as a quick reaction force on just minutes' notice.
First of all we arranged for Britain's world-famous department store Selfridges to donate all the food, including six giant 12lb TURKEYS, 250 CHIPOLATAS in bacon, 250 MINCE PIES and 10kg of BRUSSELS SPROUTS for our hungry heroes.
Berkshire-based couriers UCS packaged up the lot, and delivered the 15 cases to Heathrow Airport. There British Airways waived the costs to fly the yummy freight on the next leg of its journey to Dubai.
After a bit of hassle and persuasion customs officers let us load the crates on to a Safi Airways flight, one of the few commercial airlines flying direct into Kabul.
SO MOVING - Memorial to the fallen in Helmand
And then came the dangerous bit - the vehicle convoy to Camp Souter. Just 24 hours later it's D Day - Dinner Day! Marco - the first British chef to win three Michelin stars - and his assistant Matt Brown powered into action. And, with a bit of chop-chop help from the Sri Lankan kitchen staff, they set about preparing dinner for 50.
As he got together starters of potted Morecambe Bay shrimps, brown bread and butter, and mushroom soup 48-year-old Marco said: "One of the great pleasures in being able to cook is that ability to give. To be allowed to cook for the guys and girls here, to be given that invitation, is very special."
Next up was the roast organic Norfolk turkey garnished with sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy - "Proper turkey gravy made with giblets," insisted Marco.
Alongside that came braised red cabbage, swede puree, sprouts with chestnuts, roast potatoes and parsnips.
It was all followed by Christmas pud with Army custard and double cream, vintage Stilton cheese with quince jelly, plus warm mince pies and coffee.
And after their marathon three- hour battle with ovens and well- travelled ingredients the Marco kitchen brigade's feast was declared a major victory.
TUCK IN LADS - Troops enjoy Marco feast
Signaller James Alexander, 25, from Torquay, Devon, and serving with 1UK Armoured Division Signal Regiment, said: "This means a lot to us. It's a show of support from back home, and it's really appreciated."
Comrade Signaller Ben Scotting, 22, added: "It really did look like Hell's Kitchen in there the way Marco was running around the place! And the food was GORGEOUS!"
Sergeant Major Paul Wilson, 38, of the Mercian Regiment attached to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion, emphasised what a welcome relief something like Marco's visit makes.
He and his men have been in Kabul just four months and faced a spate of suicide bombers.
Paul added: "Not only do the guys here enjoy Marco coming out, but they appreciate that somebody of his stature is willing to come here."
The Commanding Officer of the Kabul Joint Support Unit, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sawtell of the Yorkshire Regiment - praised Marco and the News of the World for putting on "a first class meal" adding: "The boys are all really excited to see him."
NICE TO MEAT YOU - Marco on Butcher St
And there was more excitement in store. Immediately after dinner Marco was rushed aboard a Hercules military plane and flown down to Camp Bastian in notorious Helmand Province to visit the lads slugging it out daily with the Taliban.
Moved by the experience, he told us: "Ater a night under the stars I met Brits in a bomb disposal squad and sadly heard of yet another of our troops killed by a roadside bomb.
"I shared the Hercules flight back to Kabul with the coffin of an Afghan soldier."
Back in Kabul superchef Marco saw first hand another side to the war - the massive efforts being made to find the recipe of a better life for impoverished Afghans.
He was taken on a street tour by the British Government's Department for International Development who have spent £740million on projects including beefing up education, healthcare and sanitation. He strolled around the thriving meat market on Butcher Street, greeting tradesmen and admiring the carcasses and cuts on offer.
But driving around Kabul, Marco saw plainly the extreme poverty many suffer.
WARM-UP MAN - Marco gives fleeces to kids
He said: "It's hard not to be moved by the sight of young children begging at the roadside, or sifting through piles of rubbish for any scraps they can find, or forced to work to bring in some money.
"I have never seen such poverty. But in other areas you can see improvements.
"The traffic is unbelievable. The roads are clogged with people moving around, in old battered cars, bikes, and carts. There are tradesmen on every street, selling every kind of fruit and vegetable.
"It's incredible to see. I don't think people back home know this side of Afghanistan."
At one stage he watched as a flood of children, many young girls in white headscarves, piled out of a school's gates, now enjoying an education they were once denied under Taliban rule.
Then Marco visited the Aschiana drop-in centre, supported by the British Embassy in helping street kids, where he handed out fleeces, books and pens donated by supermarket Asda.
Marco admitted to being moved by the spirit of ordinary Afghans trying to make ends meet.
He said: "What is beautiful is seeing people getting on with their lives, and living like any normal community.
"It's amazing to see modern buildings going up, as the city moves forward. I think many people see the whole of Afghanistan as a warzone where people fear to tread.
"It's clear there are attacks, even increasing in Kabul, but it's a working city. Seeing is believing."
guy.basnett@notw.co.uk
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/634767/Marco-Pierre-White-dishes-up-Xmas-feast-for-Afghan-heroes.html
Posted by: Grace Vernon
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