When you picture a defence force dining hall, do you imagine sterile metal trays being spooned mass-produced slop for dinner?

You are not alone.

During the Territory Taste Festival, Navy, Army and Airforce chefs showcased the reality of cooking for the troops, and the menu did not disappoint.

The team behind the stovetops served up a selection of territory favourites like buffalo, crocodile and lamb with local bush tucker flavours.

Leading Seaman Luke Bodnar said life as a chef at sea came with interesting challenges but had provided him with a lifetime of experience.

"I do recommend being a chef for the defence force, yeah you are first up and last to bed, but it's a job I can take anywhere," he said.

"You get to use the world's best ingredients, every new port is an opportunity to grow your culinary skills."

A peek in the pantry

LS Bodnar has been a chef with the Navy for 13 years and visited 16 countries across multiple deployments.

He said it was his dad who inspired him to join the defence force.

"My dad did 20 years in the navy as a combat systems operator," he said.

"I have always loved cooking and food, so I wanted to combine my dad's history and my love of food together — that's why I became a chef with the navy."

LS Bodnar explained depending on the size of the vessel, there can be up to 30 cooks in the ship's kitchen. ( ABC News: Gabrielle Lyons )

When walking onto his first vessel as a new recruit, LS Bodnar admitted he had low expectations of the kitchen he would be working with.

"My initial assumption of the sort of kitchen I would walk into on a Navy ship was an oven and a deep fryer, but that's just not the case," he said.

"The kitchens are large and have spaces for prep, multiple fridges, up to four hot plates, even eight on larger vessels, deep fryers, and every bit of equipment you could imagine."

Although LS Bodnar agreed many meals must be produced in mass quantities to feed anywhere between 30 and 100 crew members, he said there's no slop on metal plates.

"We bake fresh bread onboard. We are much more than just chefs, definitely gets the crew pretty excited when they can smell fresh bread coming out of that galley," he said.

"The quality of food on board is fantastic, from sirloin steaks, spaghetti bolognaise, lamb shanks, lasagne and theme nights too — just to avoid the feeling of groundhog day on the boat.

"Pizza night is a real favourite. I suppose it's all about comfort food and meals that make the crew feel closer to home."

LS Bodnar says his specialties are derivative of his German-Hungarian background, but he's also a dab hand at satay. ( ABC News: Gabrielle Lyons )

Surprise produce at international ports

LS Bodnar said, with each international port he had pulled into, he had learnt to adapt his menus to suit unusual new produce.

"When I was on the Gulf deployment in Iraq we received a crate filled with milk cartons that had a picture of a camel on it, the crew were really concerned we would be serving them camel milk for breakfast," he said.

"Luckily it was cows' milk — just bad labelling.

"The hardest ingredient I have had to work with is lambs' brains. Trying to sell lambs brains on the servery line is near impossible so we called them 'lamb nuggets' … didn't last for long before we were caught out."

Similarly, LS Bodnar said trying to accommodate cultural expectations into an onboard menu had left him high and dry.

"When I was deployed to East Timor, no-one told me that the crocodile was their national animal. I didn't know this when I prepared 10kg of crocodile meat for the trip," he said.

"I felt like Bubba Gump [American seafood restaurant chain] trying to use croc for just about every meal for the crew … croc tacos, boiled croc, croc burgers.

"They were pretty sick of it by the time we got back to Australia."

Forget mass-made slop in a stainless steal vat. Each of his chefs learn to be bakers as well. ( Supplied: Defence Force Recruiting )

Christmas dinner and birthdays call for extra special menu editions.

"Of course we change up the menu for special events, if it's your birthday and you want pulled pork burgers I'll say 'sweet, let's do it'," he said.

"The only downside, as a chef people tend to forget your birthday. One year I made myself a solo cupcake, took it up to the deck with a candle and sung happy birthday to myself."

The forgotten sectors of Defence

LS Bodnar said he felt lucky to have had his dad give him inside knowledge of the defence force, and positions on offer outside of frontline combat.

"I don't think too many people recognise just how many sectors of defence there are," he said.

"Being a chef is a great way to see the world and walk out with a trade, which would allow me to work anywhere in the world."

Flight Lieutenant Brendon Knopke has focused on the recruiting aspect of defence and agrees — there's more than meets the eye working in the defence force.

"There are over 300 roles throughout the defence force, most people don't know that the hospitality sector exists," he said.

"We want to educate the wider public about how many options there are and show that it's not mush on a plate.

"Our chefs are fantastic. It's an exciting sector within our team."