Sixpence a day was deducted from the soldier’s pay to pay for the food. Any additional foodstuff had to be paid for extra.
Before the Crimean War the soldiers had to carry his own food and cook it for himself firstly finding the fuel for a fire on which to do so. This meant that the food was  often undercooked. After the Crimean War food was generally cooked in batches that would feed  a company. The only utensils issued were two copper pots to each company.  Cooks were selected without regard for their culinary skills and were often notorious as the dirtiest men in the Regiment. A school of cooking was established at Aldershot in 1870 and the Regiments began to benefit from the services of trained cooks.

The officers dined well and in luxury amid the glittering regimental silver. Few took any interest in the messing arrangements of their men or the quality of their food. During the Crimean War a famous French chef, Alexis Soyer, went to Scutari to help Florence Nightingale improve the preparation of food for wounded soldiers. He was also keen to instruct the men on how to do this for themselves once they were fit. His efforts were received less than enthusiastically by some senior officers. General Eyre said: "Soldiers don’t require such good messes…you will improve the cook but spoil the soldier."

Soyer had been developing a 'kitchen for the Army' which he completed during the Crimean Campaign. He developed a stove which was a combination of a steam boiler with a removable container on top. This stove proved to be so valuable that the army has used them ever since, still calling them the Soyer Stove. Rather like over-sized dustbins with a chimney to take away any smoke the Soyer Stove will boil, stew and steam, in short do every thing but grill, ensuring variety in cooking.

Recipes for the Soyer Stove