Order up

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Students learning culinary skills while feeding the community

A comprehensive cooking course that serves up breakfast and lunch to the staff and students at Inuksuk High School is rapidly becoming Iqaluit’s best-kept culinary secret.

Five days a week, eight college-aged students serve generous portions of hot entrees, along with homemade soups, salads and desserts for a mere $5.

A typical lunch menu may include Thai noodles with meat, fish and vegetables in a spicy sauce and a salad made with fresh greens, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese served with a sesame orange dressing.

Variety is the key. “The goal is not to repeat the menu in any given month,” said instructor Dorothy Edwards.

The course, a pre-trades program funded by the department of education, is taught in the school cafeteria — a facility largely unused in the past 15 years.

“Someone built this thinking they were in the south,” Edwards said.

The sprawling kitchen is equipped with two convection ovens, a 60-gallon steam kettle, three walk-in coolers, two walk-in freezers and an industrial dishwasher.

From making salad dressings to ordering supplies, the students, from all over the Qikiqtani region, are gaining skills and experience to improve their job prospects.

They start each day at 7 a.m. kneading dough for cinnamon buns and bread. Then comes breakfast, followed by several hours of lunch preparation.

The students also provide soup and sandwiches for the Qayugtuvik feeding program run out of the Blue Dome. The program feeds an average of 35 people per day, many who are homeless.

“We’ve never had a bad meal,” said Ron McLean, who picks up the food. “The [students] know they’re serving a big need and they seem to put in a lot of extra effort. Even if soup isn’t on their menu, they’ll make sure we get some. It’s fantastic.”

That dedication goes both ways. Several students admitted they had considered dropping out of the program before Christmas. The combination of stress and homesickness had taken a toll. However, after encouraging words from Edwards and Joy Taaffe, the program coordinator, all eight students remain in the course.

Ashevak Qavavau dreams of becoming a chef. Already a baker with two years’ experience working in Cape Dorset, he enrolled in the program to get additional training — and a graduation certificate.

“My goal was to make soup from scratch and I’ve already learned that,” he says proudly.

After graduation in April, Qavavau plans to find work in Iqaluit or a bigger city.

Other students like the idea of staying in school.

“I’d like to find work and take more classes,” said David Joamie of Clyde River.

Joamie joined the class with three years of cooking experience and a desire to make his own bread and cakes from scratch. He’s learned that and more since the program started in September.

Most students agreed starting up a restaurant in their home community would be ideal but pointed out the costs would be prohibitive.

“I just want to learn to cook special meals, not just for myself but for my friends and family,” said David Amarualik of Igloolik.

Future plans for the program include getting high school students involved and incorporating country food into the menu.