All-day bagels in Royal Navy 'modern' meals trial

Sailors on a Royal Navy warship are being offered salmon bagels and other snacks to stop them missing meals due to work demands.

Paninis and fruit salad are other light-bite options in the new "grazing galley" on aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The Portsmouth-based warship has been chosen as a testbed for the Navy's new "all-day dining" programme to suit shift times and military exercises.

It said main meals would also still be available for those who want them.

Catering warrant officer "Barney" Barnes said: "We were finding many of our watchkeepers would skip breakfast to prioritise rest after a busy watch.

"This new way of feeding allows them to still be able to have something to eat, which in turn increases both their morale and operational effectiveness."

The Royal Navy said it hoped that modernising meals would also help the ship's 50 caterers.

Logistics officer Adam Cook said: "Spreading demand throughout the day will ease some of the pressure on those working regular galley shifts."

Feedback from chefs and diners had been "nothing but positive", he said.

"The chefs... can be creative and add their personal flair to food presentation, which can be difficult when bulk cooking for meal times," he added.

The forward grazing galley offers snacks non-stop from 09:00 to 17:00, while the aft galley will continue to serve breakfast, lunch and supper.

The £3.2bn warship set sail on 6 September for training around the UK and northern Europe.

The deployment marks the carrier's first official sailing as Nato's command ship for the Allied Response Force, a designation it received in July.