Gastrocultural Division

A society of "foodie" officers within Starfleet. Their existence is an open secret, as is the fact that their extensive supply and distribution network of non-replicated spices and ingredients, while never breaking any Federation laws, does occasionally bend or circumvent some Starfleet regulations. Members claim that the tacit tolerance they receive from the brass is due to their - legitimate - value in diplomatic situations; others point out that they actually count an admiral or two amongst their members.

Membership and requirements are fairly informal; all of the following information should be interpreted as conventions, guidelines, and "circumstances permitting", not requirements that are enforced to the letter.

Requirements

Membership is by invitation only; by convention, the invitation is extended only after the potential member has attended a multi-crew GD event as the plus one of a current member.

Members are expected to host meals regularly. In typical service, a crew is expected to self-organize in whatever way works best for them; this often takes the form of a fixed rotating schedule of the members stationed there, or a fixed event schedule with a system to volunteer for hosting. However, when two crews meet, the highest-ranking member is expected to host all GD members of both crews. In the likely case of multiple equally-ranked members, seniority in GD is considered, though it can easily be overruled by "wait guys but I've got this recipe you've got to try".

Hosts don't necessarily have to prepare the meals, they're simply responsible for making sure the food is there; a talent for finding the best local restaurants is more than enough to make you a valued member, and some members even choose to host in the form of eat-what-you-cook cooking lessons or the like.

Invitations are generally extended to members of Starfleet whom the inviter outranks (even if only by seniority within a rank) who demonstrate an interest in a variety of cross-cultural (including cross-species) cuisine and a willingness to think & learn a bit more in depth about the foods and what makes them enjoyable.

Notable Members

• Diz?
• Cor?