One question I hear often is: what do you actually cook? Everyone might be expecting MREs and freeze-dried everything. But something that one of the winter chefs told me is that it apparently takes more effort and energy to rehydrate and reassemble a meal than it does to do what we do. We don't have astronaut food here; most of our freezer looks just like any frozen food warehouse. And the menu here is surprisingly robust.
Much of what we have down here will be familiar to those of you in food service. Names like US Foods, Sysco, and Rich's are well represented on our packaging. And boy do we have boxes. Thursday is our food pull day and when I come in for my mid-rat shift, the coolers and freezers are stacked to the ceiling with boxes of frozen foods. You might be surprised to learn that while we might get three hundred pounds of fresh oranges in a fresh delivery, we'll go through that before they even have a chance to think of going green. The fresh product—known as "freshies" to those in the know, and also to the insufferable—is very much a highlight for everyone down here. When we have real salad on the line and fruit readily available, you can almost feel the atmosphere liven up. And you know we've got too many millennials on base when we put out a huge bowl of avocados and they're all gone by the end of lunch. Green grapes are my poison and it's hard to be restrained when I'm grabbing a bowl of them.
Of course we have a lot of canned and shelf stable product—what kitchen doesn't? Things like pastas and legumes will live forever down here, but we also have many sauces and canned items that give us more options when the fresh stock is dwindling. While you won't be finding any A5 wagyu or white alba truffles, everything that we have can be turned into some pretty excellent dishes. We have a five-week rotation on our menu, so hopefully everyone down here won't get too sick of what we're having. (Having worked at a place with a one-week menu rotation, let me tell you that peanut butter and jelly very quickly became the only option.)
Let me just list some things that we've had on the line:
- Jerk chicken
- Italian beef
- Homemade mac and cheese
- Taco Tuesday (every Tuesday....)
- Philly cheese steak sandwiches
- Lentil Bolognese
- Jambalaya with mussels
- Steak (New York Strip, Ribeye, Sirloin, and more)
- Seared tuna
- Roasted Brussel sprouts
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Beef mole
- Pork vindaloo
- Blackened salmon
- Pulled pork
- Chorizo paella
- Leg of lamb
- Crab cakes
- Sauerbraten
- Char siu pork
- And a lot more.
Quite the list right? And certainly more intricate than you might expect. Most of the other cooks and chefs down here have a pretty robust knowledge of the work and lots of experience. It's not just cafeteria food or whatever we have lying around. A lot of work and pride goes into the food. I've heard from others who have worked in similar remote locations that the food we provide is leagues better than what they've had to live on. I don't say that just to toot our horn—although that is a bonus—but to show that we're able to do so much more at the edge of the world than you might think.
I'll say this a lot, but food is morale. For those working down here—thousands of miles from home and loved ones, in the harshest climate, and only a few luxuries—they need to find the good things where they can get them, and food is one of those. We keep all kinds of things stacked here. Do you want chocolate chip cookies 24/7 (I'm looking at you, Dad)? We got it. A bunch of cereal all day (Froot Loops included)? Better get it fast, it goes out quick. A virtual waterfall of orange juice? As long as the machine is working, absolutely (so like 50% of the time). Our bakers turn out fantastic desserts at every meal: trifles, cakes, pastries, the works. While we can't meet every demand, and some things are just not realistic given our situation, everyone should be able to find a few things that they like and keeps them going.
I'm not much of a trained chef, but I'm learning a lot down here from people with loads of experience. And if we can all put that together to make the rest of staff's time on the Ice a bit easier, I think that's a win for everyone.
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