Dinner for 230? No sweat, cook says

MIRIAM HILL

KANGIRSUK — Some find it daunting to host a dinner party of eight. Imagine what it’s like to cook for 230 people three times a day.

Master Cpl. Alain Doucet and his staff of two cooks do just that for each day of the 10-day Junior Canadian Rangers’ training camp held this year just outside of Kangirsuk.

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever made a bad meal,” Doucet laughs, as he takes a break from preparing supper for 152 Junior Rangers and 78 staff. “This isn’t that many people.”

He confides the staff complained about the first meal they were served because it looked too much like “restaurant food.”

Doucet, here from St-Jean, Que., says cooking for 400-500 people is commonplace during military exercises. About $60,000 worth of food was ordered for this camp and had to be shipped in by plane from the Montreal area.

This camp experience may be his most challenging yet, he says, because bad weather and bad luck kept 200 kilograms of meat and an order of vegetables from arriving at the camp site.

“I’m about five or six days behind schedule,” he says. Luckily the land has provided caribou, seal and Arctic char, but the meals have been lacking vegetables. Not to mention that, because the kitchen equipment was in storage for a year, one of the stoves blew up when it was first lit.

The kitchen lies at the back of a massive army tent capable of seating all 230 on site. Since it’s just before suppertime, four kitchen helpers are scurrying around amidst 60-quart pots. Doucet’s two cooks are busy frying and stirring.

The stoves run on gasoline and a black metal contraption referred to as a steam line holds water, heated by flame underneath to keep cooked dishes warm before serving.

The pre-made desserts, drinks and rolls are all out and ready to be feasted on.

Corp. Steve Giroux stand behind a grill with steam from frying caribou steaks drifting up in front of him. Perspiration beads on his forehead.

“Too busy…” he says, to talk about what he’s doing.

Cpl. Marie-Claude Poirier, from St. Hubert, Que., switches duties with Doucet and sits on a bench in front of one of the dining tables adorned with a roll of paper towels for napkins. She says her English is a little rusty, but she knows enough to say that she doesn’t mind peeling potatoes because at least she can sit down.

“Standing at the grill for two or three hours, that’s hard,” she says, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s so hot and the floor is so cold, my feet freeze.”

The camp cooks begin their day at about 5:15 a.m. and end about 7 p.m. Four Kangirsuk residents were hired to help with preparations and clean up.

“I think I bought all the chicken in Kangirsuk yesterday,” Doucet jokes as he returns to the table. Once the meat order arrives, that problem should be solved.

He says the campers seem to enjoy the meals and some say they’re better than they get at home.

“The friend of the guy who said that told him not to let his mother hear that,” Doucet says, smiling.

It’s just after 4:30 and the first of the junior rangers come racing into the food hall. The smell of caribou steaks, mashed potatoes, gravy and fried onions floats in the air.

“Hang on just a second, “Giroux calls to them. They step back and the chatter gets louder.

“Can’t we have lasagna?” teases one girl, before taking her heaping plate and grinning widely at the server.