Chef on Base

With all of the activities i have done so far on this blog, you may be forgiven for thinking that i don't actually do any work.. So this post is just to set the record straight. 

 As a Chef the work is very demanding with everyone on base eating every 2 hours and while everyone has Sunday off we Chefs have to work. We are also working while everyone else is having a break eating. This in fact means that when the workers finish work at 5 / 6pm and come in to eat at 7 / 7.30pm, by the time we have fed them,  cleared down and cleaned up,  it is 8.30 / 9.00pm.

Which takes our day to 13 hours. Times that by 6, because we do get one day off in the week, and that makes a total of 78 hours a week, on average.

Here is how the day generally goes:

4 chefs on base, Me, Ant (the last wintering chef and lead chef), Chris (this years wintering chef) and Pat (who came in with me to do the summer season).

We all start at 7.30 am.  2 chefs in the Laws Kitchen catering for 80+  and 1 chef in the Drewry kitchen catering for 30+.

From Monday to Thursday There is one chef off. Ant has Monday, Chris Has Tuesday, Pat has Wednesday, and i have Thursday every week. Unless something happens like a plane or a ship comes in and more people descend on base, then our day off gets cancelled. But that has only happened twice since i have been here.  On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we all work, with 2 chefs in the Laws and 2 in the Drewry.

The first thing we do is get a batch of bread on.

 once it has been mixed we leave it to prove. While it is proving we think about what we are going to put out for lunch and start preparing morning smoko  which is either a bacon roll, cheese toastie, burger or sausage bap, always a soup and bread roll and vegetarian alternatives. We have to give 2 per person as it says in their contract, although some have three and four…We make 200 bread rolls a day and 30 loaves of bread.

We have 2 hits on morning smoke,  the Morrisons Contractors have theirs at 10.am and that has to be taken over by quad bike to their logistics tent on the construction site. The 2nd hit is at 10.30 am when BAS employees come into the Laws dining area for their smoko.

The picture shows the bread dough being weighed to 80 / 90 gms and rolled into shape.

Here i am rolling the dough flat , ready for the second prove.

Once it has doubled in size on the second prove it goes into the oven to be cooked and a second batch is made repeating the whole process.

While Morning smoko is going on we then start preparing lunch, which is always a soup and bread, there is always a salad bar with items such as cold tinned meats, salami, sardines, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, sliced onions and peppers, only when available.  Grated carrot, potato salad, beetroot salad, maybe a pasta or rice salad, tuna fish, and anything that can be used up.

The main lunch is always a use up lunch from previous dinners before, like:

Lasagne,Macaroni cheese, cottage pie, Pizza etc. Today we did cornish pasties.

Once we have cleared away from morning smoko the time is approx 11.15 am

and lunch is well on the way, we now have an hour to have everything ready for lunch. So if we are far enough ahead we can stop for 10 minutes or so, have a cup of tea and marvel at the magnificent view from the kitchen window.

At 12.30 pm Morrisons crew arrive bang on time for their lunch, and in half an hour they devour everything in sight.  By 1.00pm they have left the dining room and the BAS guys are waiting for the nod to come in and eat.  We have to quickly replenish the empty trays and dishes of food, then in they come.

They are there for half an hour, they finish their lunch, wash their plates and get back to work.

Meanwhile we take the bread out of the ovens and we  sit down for 20 mins and have our lunch. By this time it is approx 2.30pm and we have to start getting afternoon smoko ready, which is anything sweet to give them their sugar fix. This has to be ready by 3.30pm and is exactly the same as the morning smoko with the Morrisons smoko delivered to the logs tent by 3.45pm, and the BAS lot coming to the dining room at 4.00pm

We alternate afternoon smokos so as to keep it varied. So one day will be a biscuit type, like shortbread or ginger snaps, the next day will be a cake type, like lemon drizzle cake or bakewell tart. Then it will be oaty or fruity, like flapjacks, we have done marshmallows, rhubarb crumble bars, meringues, maderia cake, chocolate marble sponge, muffins, do-nuts, choc chip cookies the list is endless.

Here i am painting chocolate onto some flapjacks

Once smoko is over there is time for another cup of tea outside to see what is going on.

There is always something happening, like this Antarctic hero i spotted fixing the electrics. This is  Paul this wintering electrician . I had to get his picture with the Union Jack above him.

Then it's back into the kitchen and the prep starts for dinner. In this picture i am poaching a few eggs and i needed some ice to cool them. No prizes for guessing where i got the ice from??

Every thing for dinner has to be ready for the first sitting at 7.00pm for the Morrison boys, then again at 7.30pm for the BAS lot. Dinner is always a big meal with a good choice of dishes, veg and potatoes, vegetarian options and a couple of choices for dessert.

example dinners are:  Lancashire hot pot, Beef stew and dumplings, fillet steak and chips (only if we think they deserve it), stuffed pork escalopes, Chicken chasseur, spaghetti bolognaise, Liver and onions, etc etc, Friday night is always Fish and chip night, and Saturday night is always a themed night, this saturday is curry night and everyone makes an effort on a Saturday. The tables get clothed and laid, wine is put on each table and everyone gets dressed for dinner.  This Saturday we gave them: Beef Vindaloo, Chicken Rogan Josh, Lamb byriani, Sag aloo, Mushroom balti, Curried chick peas, Basmati rice, Fresh naan breads, and poppadums.  For desserts they had Ice cream, Lemon Syllabub, Mandarin oranges and Ground rice pudding. Which from the chefs perspective is and was bloody hard work!

But everyone seemed to enjoy it and the evening went without a hitch.

Here i am standing in the Dining room before the masses descend upon us.

On the wall behind me are pictures of every wintering team at Halley, from 1962 to present day. The walls in this dining area are designated to the Antarctic teams.

This is the servery before it gets destroyed.

The following pictures  will really interest my sister Susie,

So this is for you Sis.

This is how they all dressed for dinner on this Saturday evening. The GA's,( field assistants) had been working on the emergency containers, emptying and restocking them and generally making sure that all emergency gear was there and in good working order. They opened one container to find clothing from the early days of Halley's Antarctic research. They decided it would be fun to all dress as they did in the early pictures behind them.

sitting on the first table in the red checked shirt is Tim, vehicle op, then clockwise, Richard, Scientist of meteorology, Sue, summer Dr, Rory, wintering plumber, Ed, field guide, Craig, electrician and Mark, last wintering plumber.

Another picture of the guys after the meal. Notice me in the background talking with Ant and Tim

Then after dinner every one adjourned to the bar for drink as they are all off on a sunday, Here Richard, Tim, Michael, Mark and Ed let there hair down and have their quoter of beer, which on a Saturday is 4 cans. The rest of the week it's 2 cans a night.

A real authentic trio, especially Michael and Richard in those trousers, notice the pipe and how cool are their beards and side burns. They even had the original string vests.

And then the originals. This picture was 1962 and the clothes are the same as the ones in the emergency containers. they even have the pipes.

This is a great picture taken with the Famous Halley dogs. which is another story in itself.

Halley VI New Build

 

Friday Morning 10.00am, and Emma the wintering Comms has just been down to the Drewry to collect one of the computers to mend it. We said our good mornings, and had a chat about communications here at Halley and how it will be at Halley VI the new build. She told me that computers and phone lines will be down for most of the day today, starting after morning smoko at 10.30am. So i have 30 mins to get this post published.

As i had a trip out to the new site yesterday on my day off, I thought i would add a link to the Halley VI website which will give you a better insight into this project. My trip yesterday was really good, I went out with steve in Challenger 1, had a tour with Simon Gill and Phil Moneypenny, stayed out there for lunch with Shaggy and the rest of the boys working on the Comms Antennae,  and returned in the afternoon in a Sno-cat. The journey is approx 15km and took 30 / 40 mins. It is all pretty awesome and i will update and post more info on the new site at a later date.

Until then just click on the link below and be amazed at the New build

.http://www.antarctica.ac.uk//living_and_working/research_stations/halley/halleyvi/

 

Here is a picture of last seasons Antarctic team on a big sofa they made out of Ice.

Every season they do something different. These guys are very talented and i feel blessed to be a part of the team and working  closely with them.

Out and About with the Workers

6.30 in the morning and my alarm has just gone off. Having had only 5 hours sleep due to Quiz night in the lounge bar the night before. I really did not want to get up, so I lay for a while studying the inside of my eyelids and thinking about that first batch of bread that has to made. I could hear the world banging around in the corridor in an effort to get to the sinks and showers first, I hit the snooze button again and waited for it to calm down. I finally got out of bed at 7.00am having hit my snooze button 3 more times, I look out the window and still have to pinch myself at the spectacular sight.

With everyone out of the way i can use the bathroom in relative peace and get myself ready for work.

I make it to the kitchen and with a batch of  bread proving nicely word gets to us that they are about to put the a walkway on top of one of the modules, so we grab our cameras and run outside to watch for a while. 

This is the walkway being pieced together, with the mantis ready to hoist it into position.

 The arm of the crane is extended and takes the strain, while the guys steady and guide it as it is lifted aloft.

The two cherry pickers carry the men up to the top of the module for them to position it ready for fixing.

I get as close as i can to the modules. It is after all a construction site and out of bounds to anyone not working on the build. These are the workers i am cooking for, and you can understand why they eat so much, their work is manual, very demanding and in Antarctic conditions. They need as much nourishment as they can get...... I want a go on the cherry pickers!

Oh Well!  back in the kitchen and Ant decides to show off his latest dance.....At least, I think that's what he is doing... The rest of the day was full on and work had to be done, so no more visits outside.....

 It is a Thursday and I am off today, so i thought i would take a wander and see what was happening around base. The first person i see is Tony, and he is just about to fill the melt tank which is where all our water comes from. The first thing he does is to open the hatch. This is done electronically

Once the hatch is open Tony shovels fresh snow into the container by hand, and it takes a lot of snow to fill it. This is normally done on a rota basis, which happens on the Laws building, but Tony seems to be the only one to do this in the Drewry... Which is why he keeps telling me off for using so much water to wash up with.
I just laugh at him....It keeps him in work I tell him!  We do only have two minute showers though. Rinse the body, turn off water, soap yourself then turn on water and rinse off....That is the rule for all.

This is where the snow goes to be melted.

 I thought I would add this shot of Tony lifting the grid in order to start shoveling. It gives a better idea as to  the size of the melt tanks. You can see from the way Tony is dressed here that it must be cold, as you never see him with a hood or gloves. This guy melts the snow just by standing on it..

 This is the melt tank when we first arrived for the season. All containers were pretty much snowed in and buried and had to be dug out and moved from their winter positions
 
Here is another container undergoing the same treatment.

A Dozer in the midst of  recovery.

 At the end of every summer season the dozers build mounds of snow to put all containers and machines on, to see them through the winter. the reason for this is that every year you get 1 to 2 metres of  snow and they will be buried  when you return. This way you won't lose equipment.

Next it was off to see Mark the plumber, who was working on the Flubbers. Which are giant rubber fuel containers buried over 100 feet down. They were near the surface at one point. Mark is here standing at the top of the shaft while the other guys are deep under the ice working on repairs. Tony is here as one of his jobs is to keep all fuel drums and fuel containers full. So he is helping Mark with the fuel lines. Notice what Tony is wearing! This day was absolutely gorgeous. Just like being in the Bahamas...

Fuel pipe attached to container.

 Mark and Tony reeling in the fuel pipe.

Looking down the shaft. matt is on his way up.. There are 3 guys down there.

Mark in harness holding the rope attached to the lads down the shaft.

 Here, Micheal (the Dr) and John (an ex Chef) are helping the Chippies to build a new ramp to the Laws platform. This is because the Laws building is now jacked up as high as it can go, which means the steps will get buried. The ramp will be able to move up and down with the rise and fall of the snow....
Question!....Would you want to be operated on by this Dr???
He had his hair cut in a mohican, as did most of the guys on base.

The real chippies at work, Carl, front of picture and Gareth at rear

Ramp coming along nicely....

Then in a matter of minutes the weather suddenly went from glorious sunshine to a farly thick fog and we had to run inside to get some more clothing on. Frankie in the Mantis crane then came to lift a container onto the Laws platform...More storage for the winterers

Container safely in position and ramp still being worked on.

 Carl working on the ramp with Steve looking on.

Ramp attached to the platform. Just need handrail and walkway now.

Having watched Mark and the boys down the tunnels, i walked in to the lounge to find a training session in progress on tunnel rescue and how to use the new back board. This was conducted by the wintering Dr Jenny, who asked me if i wouldn't mind being a guinea pig and act as an injured person. Of course i didn't refuse.

They didn't tell me they were going to hang me from the ceiling.

Another day and back at work. Here I am enjoying a break with Chris and having a cup of tea, when we spotted Craig and Paul the electricians on the the cherry picker, working on the electrics at the Drewry. We asked if we could have a go? Craig said, as soon as they had finished they would call us..
Bonus!

 Once i had got into my gear with hard hat and harness, Craig took me up while chris took photos of me.

 Getting higher.

Yipes! I can see my house from here....

 This was the view from my vantage point....You can see the new modules with the container line to the right. The skidoos parked next to the Annex, which are containers of bedrooms for the extra men we have on base.

Chris, On the Ice waiting for his go....Amazing


And to finish a picture taken last year, to show how solid the ice gets and how quick it freezes.
This is shifty on the ladder and was taken by Kirk our GA.

I will try and update sooner if communications allow. We were without power today for a while, so everything was down. and yesterday they were working on the Antennae and radar systems, so communications were out of action all day and night. But then I am in the Antarctic......