How to Feed An Army

At Townsville's Lavarack Army Barracks, the catering platoons go through spuds the way combat platoons go through ammunition. Piled in the kitchens behind the base's Chauvel mess are five bulging 20-kg sacks, a day's supply of mash and chips for the 300 soldiers who eat here. They're all very active, says Warrant Officer John "Benny" Benstead, the head chef, "So their metabolism is cranking over a fair bit." As a dietitian might say, they know how to put it away.

And it's the mission of Benstead and his white-clad cuisine team to put it...