What Do The Miners Eat? Cooking For One Thousand People
February 10th 2011 06:51
The full buffet breakfast consists of toast, muffins and other breads which the workers cook for themselves, using a row of toasters in the mess. The patrons can also select from a range of cereals, fresh fruit, cold cuts and salads.
A series of hot bain maries, or hot bays, contain poached, boiled, scrambled and fried eggs. One morning I cooked 930 fried eggs! Other hot food includes breakfast sausages, bacon, and baked beans and high carbohydrate foods such as hash browns, pancakes or French toast. To drink, there is water, milk or orange juice and a self serve coffee and tea station.
If the workers are on a day shift they usually take a packed lunch, called a ‘crib’ which they select and pack for themselves. This might consist of sandwiches and rolls, salads, fruit, pastries and cakes.
Various vegetables are arrayed in hot bays including potatoes, pumpkin and peas, carrots, corn and kumara, squash, spinach, and sprouts, or combinations such as ratatouille or bean cassoulet.
Other hot bays feature stews and casseroles, pasta dishes, and on Fridays, fish and chips. A row of cold bays contain desserts including mousse, cakes and pastries, fruit platters , and even a self serve ice cream freezer.
Although the conditions are harsh, I enjoyed my ‘swings’ at the mining camps (and the money it earned me). I was surpised at the quality of the food provided. Later this year I intend to sign up for a swing on an oil rig. Subscribe to Rawfish by entering your e-mail (I don’t see the address, it’s automated) to learn how the catering is done up to a hundred kilometers offshore.
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