Fine dining on the mess deck may sound like a contradiction, but not for the U.S. Coast Guard crews stationed in Southwest Harbor. Sure, Sloppy Joes and Rice Crispy Treats appear on the menu. But so do Pan-Seared Salmon with Avocado Dip, Tequila Lime Chicken, and Poached Pears in Strawberry Cream. The galley’s cooks can also give you tips on sauce reduction, napkin folding, and what Martha Stewart cookbook they turn to for delivering quality service when feeding people who work on a boat all day as well as serving officers and guests at some occasion that just might call for a nautical centerpiece carved from a 300-pound block of ice.

A tall silver trophy displayed in the wardroom is tangible proof of that excellence. The Coast Guard Group at Southwest Harbor won this year’s top U.S. Coast Guard Excellence in Food Service Award in the “medium ashore” (versus afloat) category. Chief Food Service Specialist Michael Carpenter and Executive Officer Russell Davidson accepted the trophy on behalf of the Mount Desert Island base and its galley crew – which includes Carpenter and petty officers Larry Dagen, Mark Seawell, Brian Pratt, and Andrew Renner – earlier this spring from the International Food Service Executive Association in San Diego, Calif.

With the award came a three-week course for one officer at Johnson & Wales’ College of Culinary Arts in Norfolk, Va. Petty Officer Mark Seawell was chosen to go for the training.

Interviewed recently in his galley, Chief Carpenter recalled the times – not too long ago -when there wasn’t even a cookbook on site. When he joined this Coast Guard Group three years ago, the galley crew was cooking out of the Armed Forces Recipe Service – a box of 1,400 8-by-5-inch standard recipe cards with portions for 100 or, as he puts it, “the cheapest and plainest everything.” His second day on duty at the station, Carpenter drove to the nearest grocery store, bought a watermelon, and carved it into a boat for serving: “Look,” he said. “We can make this beautiful. People eat with their eyes first. Atmosphere makes a difference.”

A recent lunch revealed how Carpenter and his crew carry out the details, aesthetic and edible. Though the harbor view came through a steady scrim of rain, the Southwest Harbor Group’s dining area was spicy and warm. The menu (excluding the Boston Cream Pie) featured Asian dishes: Orange Beef Stir Fry, Crispy Egg Rolls, Pork Fried Rice and Oriental Blend Vegetables. The orange sections looked plump and succulent garnishing the steam tray; the egg rolls glistened. The diners, all in Coast Guard blue, lined up and passed a simple, elegant arrangement – fortune cookies, a Chinese tin of uncooked rice, and a paper fan Carpenter borrowed from his 11-year-old daughter – as they ordered. Every table held flowers and a minikiosk posting history for Asian Pacific Heritage Month.

“I’m picky about presentation,” Carpenter says. “But I also want to know – right down to the burgers – what tastes nasty and what’s great. The suggestion box [which he initiated] gives a voice to the crew. I’ve also had great bosses, open to experiments and to funding. Decorations aren’t exactly operational.”

Neither was bourbon for a rich pecan pie recipe or wine for white Rhine-poached salmon, both of which this galley offers. “It took me a year to figure out how to request this,” Carpenter grinned, unlocking the spirits cabinet. At the same time, he pulled out a detailed log noting every date, menu and recipe requesting even a tablespoon of alcohol. But that tequila-lime chicken is “a big hit,” and where else can you get a full lunch or dinner with everything from homemade three-meat stromboli to apple-crisp cups for $3.50? (As of April, the station switched to a “Pay-Go” mess, so diners pay individually for meals.)

And yes, you do need an invitation to sample what’s on deck. Bring on the soup du jour.

(Pull quote) “People eat with their eyes first.” Michael Carpenter, chief food service specialist