Matthew Stark

Officer's Career to Date:

Matthew Stark joined Starfleet Catering school in 2273, graduating a year later after a cruise aboard the USS Irredeemable. He quickly established himself as a top-flight chef, earning the praise of Captain Miselovic of the Irredeemable.

His first permanent posting was to Starfleet Academy, cooking for the Academy staff. He was briefly detached from these duties to act as defending counsel in a court-martial. It was Stark's kitchen that was the centre of an unexpected rip in the space-time continuum, caused by an unusual combination of cleaning fluids. After being posted to the Starfleet VIP reception centre in Tokyo, Stark and members of his staff were instrumental in uncovering a Romulan spy posing as the late Commodore Miselovic.

2277 saw Stark working at the new Starfleet facility on Port McCaffrey when the famine struck. Stark, unsupervised, ran a field kitchen that helped keep the survivors of the initial plague alive, in addition to assisting with the depleted Starfleet command structure on the planet. In recognition of his demonstration of skills above and beyond cookery, Stark received a promotion in 2279 to Lieutenant j.g, and with it a posting to the First Contact Office as a liaison officer. During the four years he held this post, Stark became well known both as the terror of the kitchens and the Fleet's finest, if not only, xeno-culinary expert. He was also promoted Lieutenant in 2282.

In 2283 Stark joined the USS Tandem as head chef at the start of the ship's five year mission. During this period, theTandem became the first ship in the fleet to win a Soltak/Michelin star, however this was achieved at the cost of the highest known turnover in culinary staff in Fleet history.

Once the mission was complete, Stark was given the prestige posting of head chef aboard Starbase 411, where he spent the next seven years catering for many of the main diplomatic and political soirees in that sector. His undoubted skills in this area earned him a promotion to Lieutenant-Commander in 2289. However, Stark's reputation as a forceful personality in the kitchen developed to such an extent that, when he began to look for new postings, no ship in the fleet wanted him aboard. Finally, the USS Psycho accepted an application from him.

Due to a bureaucratic error, Stark had in fact applied for the Chief Engineer's post. When this came to light, several months after the Psycho had disappeared into a temporal rift, it was decided to pretend the mistake had never occurred.

Previous Commanding Officers' Comments:

"Damned fine chef - best in the fleet, bar none. Average weight gain of the crew was far higher than it had been under any previous incumbent, which is a testament to this man's level of skill."

-    Captain Miselovic, officer commanding, USS Irredeemable

"Has a somewhat single-minded approach to learning about new cultures, believing that a thorough culinary understanding is enough to facilitate a successful first contact. He firmly believes that the way to an alien's heart is through its stomach, wherever that may be located."

-    Admiral Bryson, officer commanding, Starfleet First Contact Office

"We have managed to run the ship at a profit since Stark achieved his star by taking table bookings at every port we have put into. This officer not only deserves a share of the profits but my warmest congratulations."

-    Captain Blank, officer commanding USS Tandem

"Although Stark's efforts have been exemplary, his performance has been marred by his distressing tendency to chase visitors to his kitchens from the premises, often wielding a rolling pin, ladle, or cleaver. Given that, for the most part, these visitors have been visiting dignitaries anxious to pay a compliment, this has given us some uncomfortable moments during negotiations."

-    Commodore Skelknick, officer commanding Starbase 411.

Decorations this officer is entitled to:

Starfleet Cross (3rd class)

Soltak/Michelin star

Starfleet Catering Golden Ladle of Scrumptiousness