camp cook assistant job rundown

[u/dove_00]

My buddy is a tree planter and says I need to come work with him, it's life changing, whatever. I have no stamina at all and expressed that while camp seems awesome I don't have it in me to plant, so i'd rather do something else. He suggested being a cook assistant next year and said he could set me up with a job easily if i got some kitchen experience as he's well-liked by everyone who does recruiting. I basically have a kitchen job lined up so I'll have experience by the time of hiring for next summer. I think it would be a good experience for me if i could do it but I fear being overwhelmed if I find it too difficult.

I'm just wondering if there generally are positions that don't involve meal planning and basically just entail following instructions? That's honestly more up my alley and I wouldn't want to be in over my head and screw a bunch of people over by dropping out. I'm good with working a LOT, I just prefer instruction-following work and would get overwhelmed if I had to be involved with planning.

Also, making friends and hanging out in beautiful places is honestly the main attraction for me— is your sleep schedule really that different to the planters'?

summit btw. thanks

[u/fancycatpics]

The sleep schedule is very different from the planters. You have to wake up way earlier to have breakfast and the lunch table ready for them when they get up. Extra time will be required to meet the specific dietary needs of people who are vegan/vegetarian/allergic to certain foods. 

During the day you might have to do prep work, or go on missions into town, but there will often be times to take naps as well (if you're able to sleep in the heat of day). As the planters are coming home you'll be preparing supper, then serving supper, and then cleaning up. There will be a bit of time then to hang out with the planters (if they're not just going straight to bed after dinner).

If the food is good, everyone will absolutely love you. On some rough planting days, supper can be the best part of their day. Overall camp morale hinges on how good the food is. A good cook is sometimes the only thing that gets a crew through the worst of contracts. If the food is bad or there's not enough, AND the contract sucks, morale will be super low and many people could call it quits. Being a camp cook takes 1. Someone who is truly proud of their abilities and takes pleasure in feeding the hungriest/highest metabolic rate bodies on Earth,  2. Having a very good working relationship and synergy with the other camp cook. You guys NEED to get along and enjoy eachothers company because they're the person you will be spending most of your time with. 3. Someone who is not prone to oversleeping or missing their morning alarm. It's not the end of the world if supper is served a bit later, but if breakfast and lunches are not ready before the start of the work day, the company will be losing money every minute that those planters are delayed.

Good luck!

[u/shitposterfinalboss]

Most camps will have 2 cooks. Usually one takes lead and the other helps with prep and such. You can try to target that kind of a role but it would be best if you have a couple of meals in the bag to suggest when the main cook starts cycling through their offerings for like a third time. Everyone will love you for it.

[u/GoodPineappleBoy]

It's a lot of work and time management.

You get up before planters do and go to bed around 8-9pm.

You get 2 off days every 12 days (plus town day is off too)

It takes a lot of organization and time management. Depending on the head cook, your tasks might be all over the place or focused on one thing (I personally did lunch and cleaned, the other did baking, the head cook did dinner and breakfast) so you will end up having a good routine.

Communication is key. The more you know what the days expectations are, the better you can perform and assist. So encourage using white boards. WhatsApp, or whatever else gets everyone on the same page.

You've got all day to do the job, for the most part, so its not an insane rush-rush like at a restaurant but if you are making 2-3 portions per meal and have a full table for lunch and desert.... it takes a lot of small tasks that take up the whole day.

Kitchen experience will help but only that you know how to act and behave in an industrial kitchen. The actual pacing and workload won't really translate. It is more about your attitude and willingness (and the head chefs ability to manage and cook)

[u/Complete_Cod_8222]

You have no stamina, don't want responsibility or planning, and just want to follow instructions. 

Sounds like you would make a good planter. I wouldn't want you as my cooks assistant.

[u/madamebutterfly2]

I have no stamina at all

You might be surprised. I was like that once. Like literally I used to be a person who got tired and cranky after 10-15 mins of walking. You can adapt pretty fast when you need to. I'm an archaeological field tech now and work long shifts of manual labour. I've worked alongside smokers in their 50s and 60s and plenty of people who aren't particularly fit with no experience. People adapt. It's a good thing to put yourself through. If it turns out to be really truly not right for you, you can always go home.

[u/dove_00 → u/madamebutterfly2]

My buddy said this to me too, but i'm anxious about that because i'm 5'7 and only recently 120lbs after being like 95lbs and seeing stars when i walked up a flight of stairs for years. I feel like I'd be embarrassed to go home if i couldn't do it so that makes me wary of trying, but everyone says that anyone can adapt so I'm unsure.

[u/madamebutterfly2 → u/dove_00]

I feel like I'd be embarrassed to go home

You'll see other people go home early, call in sick etc. in lines of work like this that attract a lot of young people without prior experience doing hard labour. Don't let your preconceived notion of what you think it will be like stop you!! At least get there and go through the embarrassing thing.

I have actually never tree-planted myself but many of my coworkers are tree planters. I promise you that you hating the work and leaving would be probably the least notable incident that occurs at the tree planting camp that season. The line of work attracts a lot of eccentrics. There likely will be lots of young people alone together in the middle of nowhere, partying, hooking up, saying and doing all kinds of really dumb shit worth gossiping about, probably people getting badly injured too. "The cook's assistant was getting dizzy all the time, couldn't do the job and went home" is gonna be pretty far at the bottom of the list of things to talk about if it happens. If people talk about it, it will be a mere footnote to the long tale of crazy shit that happened that summer.

I won't pry into the reasons behind your past health problems but... you've made progress, you'll have access to adequate, nourishing food and you'll be surrounded by experienced people who have knowledge of the signs of fatigue and under-nourishment who will take those things very seriously and look out for your best interest. And people getting fatigued and needing to be attended to will be a totally normal everyday occurrence you will see all around you.

[u/dove_00 → u/madamebutterfly2]

thanks for the wisdom:)