Food Stations - Pasta

For all those foodies out there, I thought I'd better start writing a few blogs on our food stations that we provide almost 10,000 meals a day at. The first one is the pasta station. Carbs are important expecially to athletes so you may notice in the photo I posted on the site is a pasta station complete with pasta cooked in the back and placed on the steam line where we have at least 4 different pasta sauces per meal, plus an assortment of pastas that change daily as well as 2 pasta casseroles. Think of our volumes, when we make Marinara sauce, it takes 12 cases of the 6 x 2.84 lt cans of diced tomatoes and were making a fresh batch every other day.

Olympic Bill

My Turn

Well, after 21, 12 hour days straight it's my turn for a little R&R. Going to take in the euphoria of Whistler & Olympic spirit. Going to watch the 2 man Bobsleigh qualifying runs also. Go Canada!

Wish we could be sharing it together Babe....

Cheers, Olympic Mike

Our Workforce menu

Not only the athlete's eat well, but our workforce are pleasantly surprised at some of our choices as well. Check out the menu tonight for our workforce of 800 + diners with sesame crusted Ahi tuna cooked to order.

Olympic Bill

100,000 Meals in 4 weeks

Today we hit a milestone and celebrated it with a cake especially for us. Can you believe in just 4 short weeks we've hit the 100,000 meal mark? What a great moment it was for everyone to celebrate as the bride and groom got to cut the cake.

A few weeks ago I wrote a story on the bathroom test to tell us how good our food is (if your new to the site you'll have to scroll down to see what I mean). Last night on the bus ride home we got the bus test on our food, and it would seem as though we're doing a fantastic job, let me explain. As we're chatting up our daily stories on our "superstars" and the air quality in the hot and cold kitchen, bus patrons dressed as smurfs (another story earlier on) ask us if we're the Chef's running the Olympic village food services and we start up a conversation. As that conversation is going on, the guy beside me asks if this is the first Olympics I've worked, and I told him I had done the Salt Lake City Olympics as well, but it was for the IOC officials. He tells me he is impressed with the food, so I'm thinking he's one on the workers until he tells me this is his 5th Olympics and we are by far the best he's ever experienced. Can you believe I'm sitting beside one of Canada's Bobsled team members and he didn't even know my name? Let's just say the kitchen staff was exhilarated to hear that story, another morale booster for us.

A lot of companies can bulk feed customers, but we're doing it our way with style and finesse pleasing all our customers along the way and this is something we will be proud of for years to come.

Olympic Bill

Kitchen Jokes

Just as I'm plating lunch for over 4000 people, I notice in the corner of my eye a young guy flapping a plastic garbage bag in the air trying to fill it up with air. Normally I'd stop and question what was going on but when your under the time-gun, it's one of those things that can wait.

30 minutes later I circle back to find out what the garbage bag event was all about only to find the chief steward needed his green dishwashers to gather air samples. Now I've heard of a lot of kitchen jokes but this was a first for me. Believe it or not, but I have a photo of the air samples neatly stored on the shelf in the back storeroom awaiting for someone to pick them up. Now why didn't I think of that one 20 years ago?

Olympic Bill

Milestones

Last night we breached the 100,000 total prepared meals milestone, and to prepare that many meals, we've received 278 skids/pallets of groceries, weighing over 500,000 pounds! All this in 4 short weeks. Maybe one day that will be new Trivial Pursuit question.
Cheers, Olympic Mike

Olympic Culinary Students

I just wanted to mention some of our shinning stars in the kitchen and believe it or not, they are students from the Culinary Institute of Canada and Niagara Culinary Institute who've volunteered to be here. I didn't realize it until Michael told me that these students actually auditioned to come here and were selected as the top in there class and they are not being paid! The sad news is that they have to leave tomorrow and we get a fresh batch of students to take their places. I must say that if anyone is looking to hire some keeners then remember these names:

1. Natasha Leblanc
2. Catlin Heuser
3. Cristina Wherby
4. Devon Pierce
5. Lonnie Davis

One thing I learned a long time ago was that nothing comes on a silver platter and if you want something bad enough then you have to do the extras to get it. If that means working for free for experience (in the culinary world it's called Stagge) then that's what needs to be done and these girls Rocked the house while they were here.

From the bottom of my heart, I will miss them all and wish them well in their future culinary endeavors.

Olympic Bill

The Sole Survivor

Well after 27 days straight, averaging 14+ hours a day running on my feet, or almost 400 hours in less than 4 weeks, I am the last one to take a day off and it started with a load of laundry and a soak in the hot tub. We leave the apartment at O-Dark-30 (6:30am) and try to get home by 10:30 pm, so even seeing sunlight is a treat this past month. This brings back memories of my days working on the submarine and not seeing sunlight for weeks on end.

Although difficult to be away from the kitchen for the day, I am still in Whistler at the largest media event in the world so it’s time to venture out into Whistler village and get caught up in some of the Olympic hype (after the laundry is done of course). See Ya.

Olympic Bill

Valentine's day at the Olympics

Valentines Day, what does that mean to you? After 4 weeks away from home, everyone misses their loved one and family for support, and it's important that we all tell our sweethearts that we love and respect them more than just on the 14th of Feb. Nancy, the love of my Life, I Love you. OK, I said it, I hope everyone takes a moment and tell their partner the same.

Michael our leader is always thininking about morale and today he made sure all the girls were treated with their own individual Valentines card signed by all the men in the kitchen. It's the little things that get us through the pain of the 12 hour work day with things that keep us focused on morale.

Olympic Bill

A Heartfelt Thank You

Bill & I would like to thank you all very much your comments on our posts to the blog. I wanted to ensure you that we read each & every one of them, as each comment is automatically sent by email to our Blackberries. We truly appreciate you taking the time not only to follow our blog, but letting us know it also.

To Cheryl Pollock, thank you for the tip on the opening ceremonies poem, We Are More. I was able to access it online, and indeed it was very moving, unique & true.

Day 3. Go Canada Go!

Cheers, Olympic Mike ;-)