Etiquette dinner - behind the scenes

On Sunday I posted about attending an etiquette dinner. Tonight I saw the other side of the coin while working in the kitchen for the second etiquette dinner which started at 6.30pm. On these days the kitchen staff has a lot more food preparation to do - providing the usual breakfast and lunch then three different meal groups have to be prepared - etiquette, wacky games and faculty visit. The campers are divided into three groups which attends these different activities on the same night.

Around 4.30pm the girl dorms started transforming the cafeteria into a classy restaurant. Meanwhile, I was plating 90 salads (spinach, strawberries, feta, toasted pecans) and other staff were preparing the squash, mashed potatoes, baking brownies and so on. Other items had been prepared during the day for the meal. I put 15 trays holding 6 plates of salad, onto a bakers rack and rolled it into the fridge to stop them from wilting.  Plates of butter were set up and fresh bread cut and put into bowls ready for the wait staff to take out to the tables.  In addition glasses of sparkling grape juice were set out for the toasts.

The wait staff consists of local singles and young marrieds dressed in black pants/skirt and white shirt, black tie for men.  During the courses the staff get to eat the same dishes as are being served.

Lauren and Josh enjoy Bruschetta starter

It's a tightly timed operation to get the food plated. For most courses the food is already plated ready to go out but for the main course it is done at the time so that it is hot. This is done as an efficient assembly line operation.  While the evening events are taking place outside we get to hear most of it through the speakers coming into the kitchen.

Beef, chicken tenderloin, Asiago cheese potatoes, creamed butternut squash

The evening ended at about 9pm when we started cleaning up, washing stacks of plates, dishes, pans, glasses, cutlery, putting away unused food, wiping down counters. By 10pm most of the work was done and just for Mr Schlote to finish mopping the floor. This was good time since on Sunday it was 11pm before cleanup was done.  On these days we are all typically working an extra few hours. It's worth it to provide an experience of fine dining that many campers would not otherwise have. Tomorrow is the final Etiquette meal.

Track Meet

This evening we enjoyed an array of events at the Track Meet. Campers competed in various races, javelin, long jump and discus.. It was a lot of fun and great to see the campers encouraging one another as well as doing their best in competing. Earlier in the day I stopped in on a volleyball class. See all my albums and Trueeducation.org pictures here.

Etiquette Dinner

Tonight was one of three etiquette dinners which will take place this week. Campers and workers and HQ ministers attend. Campers that are not at the dinner go to one of the faculty's houses or do sports. The cafeteria at John Amos Field house is transformed from the usual mealtime format to an elegant restaurant.

This is an occasion where everyone can learn how to conduct themselves at a formal dinner.  Mr Turgeon gave opening remarks and then Mrs Turgeon spoke about some key points of etiquette that we could practice during the meal such as how to use the silverware, how to hold a wine glass (by the stem for chilled drinks) etc. 

Her talk was followed by a number of toasts by staff and campers (some voluntary, some at the encouragement of Mr Turgeon!).

All the delicious food was prepared by the kitchen staff and consisted of an appetizer, salad, soup main course and desert. We were served by what seemed to be professional wait staff (in actuality HWAC students and Edmond brethren).

During the meal Mr Turgeon held a topics session with a wide variety of questions which garnered some thoughtful and funny answers.  Some of the questions were: what is your least and most favorite food? (lots of people don't like cooked carrots!), what is your favorite commandment?, what has impacted you most from what you have heard at camp? what suggestions do you have for improving PYC? One notable answer to this question was that they would like more time for prayer and study in the morning. Just like at Spokesman's club, all the campers had to answer at least one question or were called upon.

We all had a wonderful time fellowshipping at our tables, eating restaurant quality food and enjoying an elegant evening, helping us to continue raising the bar. Thanks to all who put in so much effort to make these events possible.

Uplifting Sabbath

Yesterday was another beautiful relaxing Sabbath day at God's headquarters. I had a restful morning at home while my roommates Delane and Marcela went out for breakfast. Arrived at God's House with good amount of time to fellowship. I met Callie Gannum's mum, Mrs Tester who was over from Australia visiting and got to know a some of the campers from 1G and 2G. It's a wonderful contrast to see the campers dressed up after a week of shorts and T-shirts.

Philip Nice songlead and Mr Brad Macdonald gave the sermonette. He encouraged the campers to embrace Mr Armstrong as a lawgiver and to "study the Autobiography to learn about God". Mr Turgeon continued the theme of the law in his sermon. He encouraged us to really love God's law and to one way to show it by meditating on it all day like David. His main area of scripture was Psalm 119:97-101, 165 etc He gave some real life examples of the results of not following God's way so the campers can be motivated to stay on track.

After services we all again enjoyed fellowship and the Snickerdoodle cookies (I was a lot quicker at making them this time!).

While I was chatting with Mrs Trish Locher I lent my camera to her daughter Victoria (aged 9 I believe) and she took some great pictures. Here are a few and you'll see the rest in the album.

The Kruegers had invited the Kitchen staff out to dinner so we headed over to Ted's Mexican restaurant. We had a private room and great food and fellowship. We certainly appreciated not having to cook!

Final Dance

I sneaked in on the campers final dance last night. Great to see all the boys and girls eager to dance. Yes, the boys were really keen and didn't have to be coerced to ask the girls onto the floor!

See the album for lots more pics

Kitchen = fun!

After 2 weeks of working in the kitchen I can tell you that I am having so much fun and learning a lot and fellowshipping a lot and I highly recommend it to anyone. We work 6 hour shifts and it's not that hectic at all (so far anyway!).

Leesa Beezley is having too much fun!

Well I can't write much because I am off to dinner at the Fraser's.  Here are a few fun pics from today's activities.

Addision Dahlke plays the Ocarina

Have a wonderful Sabbath

146 Hi-Fives three times a day!

Before each meal the campers line up outside the Field House, get revved up with chants and then enter by dorm and every single one of them has to enter smiling and Hi-Five Mr Turgeon. It's a great way to keep up the positive energy throughout the day. Here are some pictures and see the albums for more.

I can't hear you campers

What are we feeding the campers?

You might be wondering about that. Well I can tell you that Mr and Mrs Krueger go to a lot of trouble to ensure that the campers get a varied and wide selection of nutritious food every day. Every meal has lots of vegetables and salad. In fact campers have to eat either vegetables for salad at lunch and dinner. There is always an extra salad bowl and lots of additional salad items like eggs, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, peppers etc. Salad dressings are all home-made and there are at least 5 different ones available at every meal. Homemade bread is also available at every meal. The campers and staff are very well fed.  Also for anyone considering being a worker next year (and more workers will be needed if we have 2 PYC sessions) you can eat all your meals with the campers.

For Breakfast there are always eggs (usually scrambled), hashbrowns and sausage in addition to Cheerios, home-made granola, yogurt, fruit, bread, orange juice and various condiments.

Mrs Krueger's green juice

For Lunch and Dinner there is always a main meat dish with side and vegetables plus salad (compulsory) and soup (lunch only). Deserts are served on the weekend. During camp so far some of the dishes have been: Lasagne, Chipotle chicken, Chicken stir-fry and rice, Meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Quesedias, Parmesan chicken, Sphagetti and meatballs and lots more I can't remember right now! There has been something different every day.

In addition there are snack packs given if there are evening activities and packed lunches for offsite events like the rock climbing trips this week. 

So you can be assured that your precious sons and daughters are being given excellent nutrition while at camp and they are not allowed to not eat! We truly enjoy serving them.