Life in the freezer
On the morning of Monday 3 June, Mike Wallman - like many British chefs - was busy with the final preparations for his Golden Jubilee celebration dinner.
That evening, he provided a feast for 20, including melon balls with mint and ginger syrup, an array of roast meats and Cambridge burnt cream and pavlova. Tables were decorated, flags waved and the party toasted the Queen with Champagne before lighting a beacon to mark the occasion.
So what? There were many such celebratory meals over the Jubilee weekend. Yes, but Wallman served up his alfresco meal in Antarctica, where the onset of winter is driving temperatures down to a chilly -20°C.
"The last time anyone here ate like that was Christmas. It's basic food, but everyone loved it," says Wallman, who used the last fresh fruit (till the next supply ship arrives in December) to create the meal and was careful to provide plastic cutlery - metal would have stuck to diners' mouths.
As chef at the British Antarctic Survey's (BAS) Rothera Research Station, Wallman is used to working with such unusual constraints. He is responsible for providing three meals a day for upwards of 120 scientists and support staff (the number drops to about 20 during winter) on a budget of £5 per person per day. He has access to only limited fresh food (supplies arrive twice a year, weather permitting); and he works in a small kitchen using three electric ovens, two stoves, a grill and a prover. He is pretty much alone in the kitchen during the winter and has one other chef in the busier summer months.
Not surprisingly, Wallman, a chef since 1994, has become no stranger to creativity since arriving in Rothera for his first tour of duty - five summer months in 2000. "Adaptability and imagination are essential as I'm working mostly with dried, tinned or frozen food," he says. "Also, I've found that recipes from books don't work and even the simplest things, such as choux pastry, are a headache. I'm not sure if this is because the air is so dry or because the ingredients are a bit old. Anyway, it's a totally different cooking world."
Now, eight months into a second contract - this time lasting 18 months - and with a full summer season under his belt, Wallman is familiar with the challenges - and the gruelling routine. The summer is hectic because of the numbers to feed: "The day starts at 5.30am and the first job is to make the bread. We get through some 90lb of bread a day. Then I start preparing breakfast, which is invariably a full English - in the cold weather it's important to provide plenty of high-calorie foods. After breakfast I start on lunch. People prefer quick, light lunches so that they can make the most of their lunch-hour for recreation. In the afternoons I use any spare time to bake treats to be airdropped for field parties or to prepare supplies for people working further south on the field depots.
"Dinner is at 6.30pm. I usually provide at least four dishes - meat, fish, pasta and a veggie option - as well as vegetables and a dessert. People seem to prefer traditional English foods such as shepherd's pies, stews, and pasties. I've made consommé a couple of times for a starter but I spent six hours making it and everyone thought I'd just poured water on an Oxo cube!"
Wallman does try to ring the changes at weekends, however, with dishes such as gravadlax or pork roasted in cinnamon and garlic.
During the winter, when there are fewer people on the base, Wallman provides just lunch and dinner. "Saturday nights are even more important during the winter. More often than not it's a theme night. In the past these have ranged from cowboys and Indians or back-to-school nights to beach parties and barbecues. These are a particular favourite when it reaches -30°C and beer freezes within 15 minutes."
Wallman is far more than just a provider of food, however. He is in charge of all food and equipment stocks, basic training for relief staff (he has Sundays off, plus three weeks' leave in Antarctica during the winter) and plays a vital role in maintaining morale. "Mealtimes are a focal point of the day so it's important to keep them interesting and varied. This can be a challenge when you haven't even got a bit of limp lettuce to help!"
Outside the kitchen, Wallman is just another base member, particularly during the winter. "All the winterers have to be prepared to help out driving tractors, fuelling aircraft, doing woodwork, first aid - or, God forbid, unblocking the plumbing."
But the biggest challenge of all has to be supplies. "The last delivery of food for the winter is by ship in March. We don't get another until December. After a winter you would never believe the excitement over a bit of fresh fruit or a potato. If we're lucky an American research ship that occasionally works near by will call in and there are flights between here and the Falklands during the summer so we'll often get fresh fruit and veg that way. When ships call I'll strike a few deals with food as currency. I once swapped a box of chocolate for 20kg of fillet beef.
"The big problem is if supplies are delayed or don't arrive. It's not unknown for ships to get stuck in the sea ice and they're sometimes unable to get to the bases at all. If this happens we have three years' emergency rations."
So what's the appeal of such a job? What would entice a young person to swap the relative comforts of cooking in Cambridge (Wallman had worked in a variety of hotels and restaurants there since 1994) for an uninhabited ice desert 14,000 miles from home?
Looking back, he wishes he had seen the advertisement sooner in his career, for his first Antarctic posting had him hooked. "When I got back to the UK, in March 2001, there wasn't a job that could match it, so seven months later I was back in Antarctica for a full 18-month contract. I'm now not due back to the UK until June 2003.
"The view from my kitchen window is probably the best in the world, and where else can you go skiing, snowboarding and boating in your lunch break? It's the small things you miss - like a pint of fresh milk or a tree - rather than friends and family, because you can telephone, there's the e-mail and post in the summer. Getting a parcel or letter is the best feeling, even if it's only a little pack of sweets from your gran."
Wallman's return to the UK next June will, he hopes, be temporary: "When I get back to the UK I'd like to buy a narrow boat and tour Britain for a few months but my ultimate goal will be to come back to Rothera."
When the ship comes in…
For a chef in Antarctica, the equivalent of supplies being a bit held up on the M25 takes on a whole different meaning as ships can be delayed for several months by bad weather. When the supply ship does arrive, it takes four days to unload, with all 120 staff on the base helping out. A typical delivery will include about 500kg of assorted vegetables; 600kg chicken breasts; 400kg beef rump and a little sirloin; 500kg pork; 300kg bacon; 300kg assorted fish, and 13 types of cheese.
"It's normally the fresh fruit and veg that people are willing to kill for," Wallman says, "so I tend not to lock it away for fear of finding a leopard seal in my bed!"
Working in Antarctica: the practicalities
Working in Antarctica may be the ultimate antidote to an urban existence, but what are the practicalities of life in the frozen south?
Experience and qualifications required
The ability to cook a varied menu for upwards of 120 people; the ability to manage stocks and provide basic training for relief staff. Minimum qualifications are an NVQ level 2 or 3, a BTEC National Diploma or City & Guilds 706/2. You must also hold a nationally recognised Food Hygiene Certificate, preferably at intermediate level.
Responsibilities To provide all food for staff and visitors; to manage food and equipment stocks; to train other kitchen staff; to ensure cleanliness of the kitchen; to ensure safe working practices; to carry out other duties as required by the station commander.
Type of person You must be able to use your initiative; you must be physically capable and medically fit to work in an extreme and isolated environment; you must enjoy living in a predominantly young community; and you should ideally be without commitments in the UK.
Salary package
From about £15,000 per annum pro rata, plus a bonus. All clothing, food and accommodation are provided free on the voyage and on base.
Appointments Minimum five months
Contact
British Antarctic Survey
Tel: 01223 221400
Web site: www.antarctica.ac.uk
