The logistics behind cooking for 1600 visitors

Plenty of spread sheets, notebooks, colour coordinated walls listing dietary restrictions, and more, have all gone into ensuring this cooking spree goes as smoothly as possible.

“That’s definitely keeping me on my toes. We have quite a few people with special allergy requests or lactose free, dairy free, vegans, no pork, etc. I have lots of experience with that, but I’m calling on my partner in crime, Chef Stacy (Moen), to help me do a lot of the number crunching and planning for that,” Gobbi-Newcomb said.

“We’re keeping our buffet very flexible for the folks, and then we have another light buffet on the side, just for the volume. And then we have a whole separate area, special refrigerators, where we’re keeping special meals and allergen focused meals to mitigate cross-contamination as well,” she continued.

Beyond allergies and other dietary restrictions, keeping everything fresh is another priority, and Gobbi-Newcomb explained how many groceries to order, and how long you can keep them fresh, are also key considerations for an event like this.

“We’re actually starting to receive groceries already on June 27, and the games don’t start until July 10. So, a lot of planning: ‘how long can I keep things frozen for?’ Thawing protein, so they’re ready to be cooked the morning or the afternoon of the event. And a lot of food safety is going to play a big role in this,” Gobbi-Newcomb said.

As for the meals themselves? Gobbi-Newcomb is excited to say that a great three-day menu is planned. The first day will be Italian cuisine, the second will be Asian inspired, and the third and final day wraps up with a beef pot roast dinner.

“That was really important to me, that we want to make the athletes happy. We want to have a great athlete experience, so I reached out to my pal Peter (Goudal), who is one of the athlete’s dad and coach, and he was able to give me some feedback from the athletes. So far they seemed pretty excited about the menu too,” she said.

An event this large needs a lot of man power, and Gobbi-Newcomb says more volunteering help is needed. She says there are 212 total positions to be filled, and at the moment there are 92 vacancies.

“We need folks that will help open boxes, move groceries around the space, setting up the buffets, dishwashers, moving recyclables, actual cooks of course, people making coffee. Just simple tasks that pretty much anybody can do,” she said.

“We have space for teenagers, seniors, different clubs and groups. If you want to come in as a team and work with your pals, or maybe you want to bring your mom and your grandma or something like that, there’s lots of opportunity for people, and you don’t have to be highly skilled in the kitchen. You’ll get some quick on the job training or have somebody helping with the situation so you can just be some elbow grease for us,” she continued.

If you are interested in learning more, or would like to volunteer, you can visit Special Olympics BC’s website HERE. You can also phone the Special Olympics BC office if you’d like to volunteer at 604-785-9038, which is open Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

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by Tommy Osborne

The logistics behind cooking for 1600 visitors

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