Hank, I met you years ago in Burlington VT and since then have followed your every move. I have spoken of you often to anyone who will listen, that I believe you to be the greatest wild game chef I’ve ever heard of. I recently mentioned your work in a short note here on Substack, when comparing your duck confit to another chef’s work in Vergennes, VT. Long live the King!
I am not a professional chef, but I greatly understand the demands of cooking for a multitude. I had the opportunity to cook for 30 people in an old Boy Scout “commercial kitchen” a few years back. Unfortunately, I only got to use the kitchen twice before we were evacuated due to a wildfire. I failed to mention this was an off-grid commercial kitchen, so I didn’t have access to ice! Thankfully, I had placed most of the meat and excess groceries in the chest freezer as that is what I had to use for “ice” when packing up my commercial kitchen into ice chests and a cargo container trailer to head downriver to our safe place to continue our event. Recipes had to be changed on the fly as I no longer had access to certain pieces of equipment while cooking outside in The Wild. With daytime temperatures in the 90s with soaring winds, I was able to successfully cook without getting anyone sick for 5 days. Yes, I ran out of “ice” and quite quickly! Thankfully, the road opened with a pilot car after a few days so that one of the participants parents could travel the 70 miles round trip to purchase some real ice. It was an adventure that will always be remembered by all who experienced it and it was delicious!
You do it because you love it and your good at it it your gift and for you to share it with others is something extraordinary. Thank You for the tremendous effort.
Beautiful descriptive writing, thank you. Say “frilly in favor of the flavorful far faster” five times fast. Upgrading to paid to enjoy more of your writing about one of my favorite subjects.
The whole crew at Seven Acre Dairy rocked the Wild Wisconsin dinner. Ines killed it on the spätzle! That was one of the best "restaurant" meals I've had in a long time.
I really appreciate and enjoyed reading this. Hank shares true insights about life in a professional kitchen and the toll it takes on one’s body and perhaps mental health. Having lived in kitchens for more than 3 decades, I know this first hand. Professional kitchen is hot, wet, fast and sharp! The hours spent on one’s feet on mostly hard surfaces, bending, twisting, lifting, shaking, sawing & chopping takes a toll on the body over time. Think about professional athlete’s playing careers are maybe 5-7 years if they are fortunate depending on the sport. There’s an old saying about being a Chef, “You gotta love it.” If you just want to cook nice food, you can certainly do that at home when you feel inspired to. If you want to do it as a career, be sure to go work in a professional kitchen for a month if you can. Learn and work to get a feel for the daily routine. Be sure to ask lots of questions and listen. Do whatever tasks are asked of you, even if the are seemingly mundane or small. Do them perfectly over and over again. Listen to feedback from the person in charge and be willing to accept criticism. Learn. If you feel more determined and motivated afterward, a career in a professional kitchen may be for you. Thank you Hank for sharing your story.
We were there night one and you hid it well. It was great speaking with you after. Having washed many a dish in the my younger years, my favorite story is working just one day as a dishwasher in St John USVI. I got in and needed a ladder to reach the top of the dish pile.
Thank you for the Soundgarden reference about half-way through; it made this middle-aged self feel like it's got a tiny bit of relevance left.
Hank, I met you years ago in Burlington VT and since then have followed your every move. I have spoken of you often to anyone who will listen, that I believe you to be the greatest wild game chef I’ve ever heard of. I recently mentioned your work in a short note here on Substack, when comparing your duck confit to another chef’s work in Vergennes, VT. Long live the King!
I am not a professional chef, but I greatly understand the demands of cooking for a multitude. I had the opportunity to cook for 30 people in an old Boy Scout “commercial kitchen” a few years back. Unfortunately, I only got to use the kitchen twice before we were evacuated due to a wildfire. I failed to mention this was an off-grid commercial kitchen, so I didn’t have access to ice! Thankfully, I had placed most of the meat and excess groceries in the chest freezer as that is what I had to use for “ice” when packing up my commercial kitchen into ice chests and a cargo container trailer to head downriver to our safe place to continue our event. Recipes had to be changed on the fly as I no longer had access to certain pieces of equipment while cooking outside in The Wild. With daytime temperatures in the 90s with soaring winds, I was able to successfully cook without getting anyone sick for 5 days. Yes, I ran out of “ice” and quite quickly! Thankfully, the road opened with a pilot car after a few days so that one of the participants parents could travel the 70 miles round trip to purchase some real ice. It was an adventure that will always be remembered by all who experienced it and it was delicious!
A beautifully written tale as always Hank. Huge respect to Ines and your brigade. Now rest, recuperate and recover!
You do it because you love it and your good at it it your gift and for you to share it with others is something extraordinary. Thank You for the tremendous effort.
Beautiful descriptive writing, thank you. Say “frilly in favor of the flavorful far faster” five times fast. Upgrading to paid to enjoy more of your writing about one of my favorite subjects.
Thank you so much!
The whole crew at Seven Acre Dairy rocked the Wild Wisconsin dinner. Ines killed it on the spätzle! That was one of the best "restaurant" meals I've had in a long time.
I really appreciate and enjoyed reading this. Hank shares true insights about life in a professional kitchen and the toll it takes on one’s body and perhaps mental health. Having lived in kitchens for more than 3 decades, I know this first hand. Professional kitchen is hot, wet, fast and sharp! The hours spent on one’s feet on mostly hard surfaces, bending, twisting, lifting, shaking, sawing & chopping takes a toll on the body over time. Think about professional athlete’s playing careers are maybe 5-7 years if they are fortunate depending on the sport. There’s an old saying about being a Chef, “You gotta love it.” If you just want to cook nice food, you can certainly do that at home when you feel inspired to. If you want to do it as a career, be sure to go work in a professional kitchen for a month if you can. Learn and work to get a feel for the daily routine. Be sure to ask lots of questions and listen. Do whatever tasks are asked of you, even if the are seemingly mundane or small. Do them perfectly over and over again. Listen to feedback from the person in charge and be willing to accept criticism. Learn. If you feel more determined and motivated afterward, a career in a professional kitchen may be for you. Thank you Hank for sharing your story.
Beautifully written. Thank you for including writing among your extreme sports.
We were there night one and you hid it well. It was great speaking with you after. Having washed many a dish in the my younger years, my favorite story is working just one day as a dishwasher in St John USVI. I got in and needed a ladder to reach the top of the dish pile.
Not having worked in a commercial kitchen. I appreciate the huge effort and hearing the stories. Sounds like merging perfection with production