THERE is never a battle for the basting brush in the home kitchen
of award-winning naval cook Lieutenant Commander Murray McAuliffe.
Lt Cdr McAuliffe, of Mornington, has been awarded the Medal (OAM) of
the Order of Australia for his work as a senior cook in the Royal
Australian Navy.
The medal also recognises his service to HMAS Cerberus.
But while the 52-year-old father of two has fulfilled every role
possible in the naval kitchen, he said it was the food prepared by his
wife Kay that he most enjoyed.
“When you have cooked daily for up to 1000 people in a main galley, to
be able to come home and have a good old-fashioned home-cooked meal that
has been made with love and care is better than half the stuff that I
can produce,” he said.
Lt Cdr McAuliffe, now the Commanding Officer of the Australian Defence
Force School of Catering at HMAS Cerberus, said he was “shocked and
humbled” to receive the honour.
Also receiving the Order of Australia today are Genevieve and Kees
Meyer.
The Bittern couple have been loving parents to almost 100 children as
well as four of their own in the past 22 years and are humbled by the
honour.