Peter Pumpkinhead

Our new-this-year Head Chef Tony Thompson decided to give pumpkins a try this year in the Squeah garden. I had my doubts, but God made sure we got something out of the patch this Fall.

We only grew one, but it's a biggie.

Squeah Goes Whole Hog

We recently were donated 3 whole pigs from MennoFarmer Walter Bergen (6 Masters Farm). It totalled about 350 lbs. of meat. We had Johnston's Meats in Chilliwack do the butchering, but our new Head Chef Tony Thompson wanted to cut down the halfs himself. It has been 30+ years since Tony has been a butcher, but he was up to the task. Here is a photo of the 3 pigs/6 halfs that we picked up from Johnston's. Tony was surprised how much he remembered from "back in the day" and made short work of the little oinkers.

Everything Old is New Again

The last phase of our kitchen renovations is almost complete. We put in a new air handling system in December 2012. This included new exhaust hoods, an upgraded fire suppression system, a condensate canopy for the dishwasher, and a new make-up air & exhaust system. Pictures posted below...

 

Dish pit with condensate canopy to exhaust the steam from the dishwasher.

 

 

New exhaust hood, oven side.

 

New exhaust hoods with fire suppression system.

Let's be Rational

Today we officially christened our newest piece of equipment in the Squeah kitch, our Rational SCC61 combi oven. Rational sent out an executive chef to provide a start-up demo for us, laying a foundation in which we can begin using the unit. We are very excited about the possibilities this gives us. Be prepared for even better things to come out of the Squeah kitchen in the months to come.

Change is the New Status Quo

"Change", it's a scary word that most people avoid, especially in the faith community. Perhaps you've heard the joke:
Q: How many (insert denomination) does it take to change a light bulb?
A: CHANGE?!?

I always tell people if you work with me you'd better be comfortable with change. I'm always looking for ways to do things better, more efficiently, more effectively, nicer. I came on board to Camp Squeah at a most opportune time: we are transitioning from a camp to a year-round camp & retreat centre. So my first 2 years here have been all about change. The kitchen has been transformed: new equipment, new stainless steel workstations, new kitchen flooring, reconfigured dish pit, and different processes.

Our latest change? Dishwares. We've updated our old china place settings with new, contemporary white china. We are very happy with the change and we think our guests will be too.

That was then...

Desert Sand with brown rim

 

This is now:

Classic white

 

 

 

 

If you miss the old china, we've transferred it over to Edelweiss Hall.

Reid Nickerson
Food Services Manager

Squeah Updated Kitchen Ready for New Year

Late Friday Dec. 23rd we were finishing up the clean-up and organization of the Squeah kitchen. On Dec. 1st we completely stripped everything out of the kitch in order to tile the floor and install a few more pieces of stainless steel components to replace some of our older wooden cabinetry.

Many thanks to the fine work of Nico, Rene, & Ty from Vladisco for the tiling, Bill & Lee from Vancouver Stainless, handy-work of Glen Warkentin, white tornadoes Natasha Neufeld & Sarah Giesbrecht, and others who helped us out along the way. Special thanks to the tireless work and expertise of Dan Friesen who spearheaded the renovation.

Here are some pictures of our new kitchen, open for business again on Tues., Dec. 27th.

Anti-fracture membrane in place, tiling begins

Kitchen stripped out of all equipment

Ty & Rene start tiling in the dish pit

Dish pit tiling almost complete

Dan deals with a one of the areas of rot that was found

Almost halfway done the tiling (baking area view)

Halfway point

Tilers putting on epoxy grout ("it's like grouting with bubble gum")

The dining room area where the contents of the kitchen was stored and cleaned

Tiling the cooler floor

Vancouver Stainless installing the new SS serving windows

Natasha cleaning the new serving counters

Sarah polishing up the steam table covers

Dan trimming off shelving legs

New floor and SS serving windows

New floor with dish pit and cooking area

New floor in workstation area

New floor and SS counter in baking area

Squeah Kitchen Renovations - Dec. 2011

The Squeah kitchen is closed down from Dec. 1-24 as we put in a new tile floor and install some additional stainless steel (baking counters and serving windows). Reid is spending a lot of time cleaning equipment since it has all been pulled out of the kitch and is sitting fully accessible on the dining room floor. <fun, fun, fun> We are planning on having everythign put back together by Christmas, and will be open Dec. 27 for the post-christmas/pre-New Years groups & Summer Staff Reunion Dec. 30-Jan. 1.

Grouting in progress