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A tale of two cooks August 24, 2014

Palo Verde always has two cooks at any given time so that they can take turns being on-station. One of the cooks has been there for years and he’s a real character. He wears a chef’s toque in the kitchen, does woodworking in his spare time, and is without a doubt the most outgoing person on the staff. He’s a good cook, but very traditional and predictable with it. He has one or two weeks’ worth of dishes that he makes without variation. (Whether it’s a week or two depends on whether you’re a vegetarian or not, if only because there are more cuts of meat than types of beans at Palo Verde.)

The second cook is new since February, and his stated mission is to get creative. Among other things, he makes tiramisu and cheesecake, which were received enthusiastically by all. Unfortunately, the entrees have been less successful. He made what I thought were fairly credible ham crêpes, but some of the staff felt those were too adventurous and went straight to the cheesecake. Less exciting, he’s also introduced hamburgers and fried chicken. Both of which were fun the first time they appeared, but at this point I’ve eaten more burgers and fried chicken in the last month or so than I did in the year before that.

Postscript: The first week of August, the new cook left the station for his break and didn’t bother to come back. One of the cleaning ladies took over the cooking, but while the food is decent, it’s less appealing than usual.