Summer Camp Cuisine
For the last nine years I have spent my summers working as a cook at a local summer camp. Since I am an elementary school teacher, I was in need of some supplemental income during the summer hiatus, and this position combined two of my favorite things: cooking and kids. While some people will undoubtedly have negative connotations with camp food, I endeavor to alter the stigma of this cuisine.
When it comes to the campers, I am constantly altering my menu in an attempt to offer foods they all will love. At the end of each week, I have the kids fill out a survey and take their suggestions and criticisms into account heading into the next. Counselors obviously have slightly different tastes, so I set up a separate area for them at each meal, which includes a few automatic espresso machines and foods catered to a more refined palette.