Original WWII-era Italian Army portable officers’ field kitchen set, marked “Cucina per 3 Ufficiali,” translating to “Kitchen for 3 Officers.” This rare and highly displayable military field mess setup was designed to provide a compact cooking, serving, and dining station for three officers in the field.
The set is housed in a reinforced military storage chest with metal edging, riveted hardware, locking latches, and removable table legs. When assembled, the chest converts into a raised field-use table. Inside is a fitted aluminum carrying tray with dedicated shaped positions for the cookware, utensils, containers, and serving pieces, allowing the entire kitchen set to pack securely into the chest for transport.
The kit includes labeled aluminum and glass containers for zucchero sugar, caffè coffee, aceto vinegar, olio oil, sale salt, and pepe/sale pepper/salt, along with aluminum plates, bowls, egg cups, cookware, coffee pot, serving utensils, flatware case, kitchen tools, strainer pieces, cooking base, removable legs, wooden cutting board, and a heavy cloth/felt-style inner cover.
This is not a standard individual soldier mess kit. It is a complete-style Italian officers’ field kitchen / mess chest, intended as a compact field dining and food-preparation station. Excellent for militaria collectors, museum-style display, reenactment display, vintage camping collectors, restaurant decor, or as a standout military surplus shop centerpiece.
Shows honest age, wear, scratches, oxidation, staining, paint loss, and storage wear throughout. Set appears largely complete, with known missing pieces noted in the specifications. Sold as a collectible military display item. Not tested or guaranteed food-safe for modern cooking use.
WWII-Era Italian Army “Cucina per 3 Ufficiali” Officers’ Field Kitchen Chest Set
Specifications
Country: Italy
Military Branch: Italian Army / Esercito Italiano
Type: Officers’ field kitchen chest / portable field mess set
Era: WWII-era / early postwar, likely 1940s–1950s style
Chest Construction: Reinforced military trunk with metal edging, riveted hardware, latches, and carry hardware
Chest Function: Converts into a field-use table
Internal Storage: Fitted aluminum component tray with shaped storage positions
Primary Materials: Aluminum cookware and containers, reinforced wood/metal chest, glass vinegar bottle with metal carrier, wood cutting board, felt-style inner cover
Color: Military green / olive painted chest with silver aluminum components
Included: Cooking, serving, dining, condiment storage, and table setup components
Known Missing: 2 steak/table knives and 1 bowl/cup
Condition: Used surplus / collectible condition with age, oxidation, scratches, staining, paint loss, and storage wear. Sold as collectible/display item only; not tested or guaranteed food-safeShipping
Local pickup is strongly preferred due to the size, weight, and fragile/fitted nature of this set. If purchased for shipment, the buyer will receive a separate LTL freight shipping quote and invoice before the item is released. Shipping cost is not included in the listed price. Item is sold as-is, with no guarantees on condition after shipment and no returns.
Included Components
Chest / Table / Storage Components
- Reinforced Italian Army field kitchen chest / convertible field table
- Removable table legs marked “Gambe”
- Thick cloth/felt-style protective inner cover
- Large fitted aluminum carrying tray with specific shaped spots for components
- Wooden cutting board / prep board
Labeled Food & Condiment Containers
- “Zucchero” aluminum sugar container
- “Caffe” aluminum coffee container
- “Aceto” glass vinegar bottle with protective metal casing
- “Olio” aluminum oil container
- Large “Sale” aluminum salt container
- 2 “Pepe/Sale” multi-sided aluminum salt/pepper containers
Dining / Table Setting Components
- “Posate” aluminum flatware case
- 3 forks
- 3 tablespoons
- 3 teaspoons
- 3 butter knives
- 1 table knife
- Combination tool, likely can opener / bottle opener
- 3 aluminum egg cups
- 3 aluminum plates
- 2 aluminum bowls
- 1 aluminum cup / beaker
Cooking / Prep / Serving Components
- “Caffettiera” aluminum coffee pot / kettle
- Cheese grater
- Large serving fork “Forchettone”
- Large serving spoon
- Cook’s knife
- Strainer cup / perforated insert
- “Schiumatoio” perforated skimmer
- “Paletta Fritto” frying turner
- “Mestolo” ladle
- Large straining colander
- Large aluminum cooking pot
- Deep aluminum saucepan
- Large aluminum skillet
- “Gratella” aluminum grill grate
- Portable stove base
Known Missing Pieces
- 2 table knives
- 1 aluminum bowl
Exact original inventory is not fully verified. Sold as shown.
