What I Did This Summer...

I bet most of you never worked in a commercial kitchen. It is not a career path that your parents would have wanted you to explore… bad hours, bad pay, hard work… the list is fairly long and gets longer with thought.

Camp is different.

At Camp, the kitchen is cool. At camp, the work is fun. At camp, the hours aren’t that bad… and it is actually a place where amazing life skills are developed.

Today’s post will shine the bright light on an often forgotten corner of the room… Ladies and Gentlemen, I Present—- THE KITCHEN!!!

A camp’s food service is the most important detail of the daily duties. All camp details are important: Think about it… how far could we go if the water ran out or what mayhem would occur if the septic system constantly reminded us of it’s presence with a foul stench. Think about a community in which the trash is not picked up or the cabin counselors are never in the cabin… but apart from that stuff; the kitchen determines our “army’s” morale. A good meal makes the spirit soar, a bad one makes the grumblers growl… and grumblers can take over a camp in no time!

Good food is a simple goal that is very hard to deliver. Not only does the food need to be tasty, it needs to be perfectly safe. I know of camps that have had every person get sick because of poor practices in the kitchen… it is a VERY BAD DAY when that happens.

For these and other reasons (picture the sullen cook who smokes at the back door or insists on “Irish Coffee” all day long)… many camps just hire a food service. Marriott has a very good food service, run professionally and managed like a German factory; but the food tastes like airport food. Good, but you get tired of the menu rotation and the lack of “soul”. Such services always use lots of processed foods (much more safe and effecient, taking the human component out of the equation). It also costs an arm and a leg to hire these good people (remember, I really want to be a good steward of your tuition money).

So we do it ourselves… Greystone Style!

Our solution makes no sense… hire one (1) professional and about thirty (30) teenagers; and give them a “real life” challenge. Cook for 700 hungry campers and counselors every day of the week. This work provides them the opportunity of a lifetime: work from dawn to dusk (doing work they would never consider doing at home) and earn a solid $75 every week! Everyone starts in the Dish Room, washing dishes anc cleaning pots and pans all day every day… then you MIGHT be invited to move up the ladder to the salad bar, prep, bakery, or front line. Who would do it? So many people that it is actually hard to get in (if you didn’t apply in the Fall, you probably didn’t get in this year). These young men and women are amazing. They have a blast in their work and grow in the 4 fold way EVERY DAY, thanks to the excellent program Gervais runs every year.

There are technical skills (they are very skilled by the time they finish a session in the bakery or on the front line), but more importantly we teach life skills.

How much of your time is spent doing work NOBODY NOTICES? How often do you have to “Gut it Out”, even though you don’t feel like working? How often do you assume that a particular job is beneith you, only to find yourself doing exactly that thing?

The Kitchen is REAL LIFE. Drudgery is life, don’t fool yourself. God has made this world to be drudgery, even if you are financially independent. It is the nature of this world to teach us something more… the lessons of work are profound and deep. There is nobility in all work, and this lesson should be learned by all of us.

In the midst of the drudgery comes delight. One day (usually after about a week of working with a scowl on the face) a 15 year old boy finds himself laughing at the dish sink… this is fun? The hours start to go by in the blink of an eye, he finds himself enjoying the rush of dirty plates and makes a game of seeing who can load a dish rack the fastest. Most amazingly, he is shocked to find himself actually enjoying Praise Songs every morning.

This makes for a happy kitchen. They aren’t working for money… they aren’t sullen professionals… they are just young people who are doing a big job, and having a blast doing it. A fantastic meal is made even more fantastic because the one who made it really worried about each part of the process… get it right and the whole world loves you. They really put themselves into the work, researching ingredients and recipes, experimenting with processes and equipment… and they get it right most of the time. Amazing if you think about it.

So I salute the Kitchen today! They Make Camp GREAT!!

JB

PS What put me in mind of the kitchen is the upcoming pizza tonight. We bought flour, fresh Buffalo Mozzerela, tomato sauce, a huge 60 pound wheel of parmesian cheese… FROM ITALY! Olive Oil from Spain. Basil from South Carolina… the best ingredients to make the best pizza. Julie Mallett will be taking photo’s of the process, it is amazing.

PPS A couple of the photographs are of the “space ship” oven… by request!

PPPS Here is a tiny, free, life changing book for you to read today: The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence (17th Century Monk who worked in a kitchen his entire life). Here is a link to a free copy you can print: <a href=‘http://www.practicegodspresence.com/brotherlawrence/index.html

"Brother’ >http://www.practicegodspresence.com/brotherlawrence/index.html

"Brother Lawrence (1614 to 1691) was a monk who today is most commonly remembered for the closeness of his relationship with God, as recorded in this little book. He spent almost all of his adult life in solitude, poverty, and obscurity within the walls of a priory. He was known for profound peace and high commitment to Jesus Christ. He cared not for the worldly status of his tasks, but the motivation behind it. “We can do little things for God,” he wrote. “I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.” Generations after his death, this book has become one of the most popular Christian books in history. It was oft quoted by John Wesley and A.W. Tozer, and today tens of millions of copies are in circulation.”

PPPPS Table Girls… Campers participate in this tradition of service by being Table Girls. At June Camp we “Pay” the Castle girls to be Table Girls with “Free Candy” (giving them free candy shoppe every night). At Main Camp the girls actually sign a contract to do the work and we pay them $100 for the efforts. Table Girls set the tables before the rest of us get into the dining hall, they help the counselor clear the tables, and they sometimes help out by getting hot food or bread replacements. We play fun music, dance around, and enjoy the drudgery… it is fun.

PPPPPS Internet… internet out this morning (I am doing photo’s and update from my office). If you emailed a Group Leader, be patient… she is down for the moment (ATT is working on it, should be fixed soon).