Food at Palmer Station:
A hearty thank you (pun intended!) to chef Francis and sous-chef Derrick for creating the culinary feasts on station. As you can see they are most serious about their work (no, seriously, they are!).
Today’s menu included beef chili, tater tots, veggie pasta soup, freshly-made hummus, home-made asiago-cheese bread, tomato salad and veggies. We had lemon-cream tarts and fresh fruit for dessert.
They provide us with 3 main meals a day, and a snack/hot beverage mid-morning and mid-afternoon. They work hard, getting up before 5 am to prep breakfast. They alternate who cooks what meal and they have a day off on Sunday.
Once a week they decide what to make for the rest of the week. They minimize food waste by creatively using the unused food portions for other meals. The unused portions depend on how many people are off-station doing research. Plus, there are birthdays (and Francis makes amazing cakes!). Thus, their planning has to be flexible.
Food that is storable is brought to the station by ship twice: in October (for summertime) and again in April (for those who remain on station for winter). As you notice, our summertime is when it is winter in the northern hemisphere and vice versa. Fresh fruits and vegetables are brought in every time the research vessel departs Punta Arenas to Palmer Station.
Because not all the food fits in the kitchen and storage room, they are stored outside and need to be brought indoors. This is done by SkyTrak telehandler (left photo below). Food is dropped off on the balcony and we form a line from there to the storage room or freezer (right photo below).
So, we all participate in moving the food to where the chefs can access it. Ready to make another delicious meal!
