About the author: Adam Thomas has been a chef with Masonic Village since 2011. He oversees dining services at the Restaurant at Eisenlohr, one of six restaurants on campus.
Success! The Tour of the Islands Caribbean event held in the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown’s Village Green Area earlier this summer was an enjoyable success – well worth all the behind-the-scenes effort that went into it.
This event highlighted three islands: Jamaica, Cuba, and Bermuda. A three-station buffet offered classic recipes that utilized indigenous ingredients and cooking techniques. But the star of the dinner was the pig roast.
We started with a 100-pound pig. Beginning at 4:30 a.m., Shawn Kaley, culinary services manager, and I loaded the roaster with 80 lbs. of mesquite charcoal and began to build our fire. After about an hour, we had the temperature just right around 200 degrees. Shawn and I loaded the pig, closed the lid and roasted it for just about 11 hours. The finished pork was juicy and so tender it melted in your mouth. I offered a spicy papaya glaze to compliment the roast.
I have always enjoyed caterings and banquets. For me, it begins with the theme and then research. I have a rather extensive library at my disposal. With over 300 volumes, my library includes books I have collected over the years as I grew in my career. Many more were either given to me as gifts or I have found speaking to other chefs. I have also acquired many through antique shops.
I enjoy reading cookbooks that were published during the Victorian era and the Gilded Age. I pride myself in studying many of the skills chefs perfected during this time period that otherwise were left to die and are no longer taught to culinary students. It is through this research and constant reading that I continue to learn more of the intricacies found within many of the world’s cuisines like those feature in our Caribbean event.
Once an event has been planned, and the menu and associated costs are approved, then comes the execution. For this event, I had the pleasure of working with Ashley Williard, sous chef. Ashley has many years of experience and many great ideas when it came to final planning of this event. She was a great asset to have working with me on this event. Though the days were long and arduous, there was a lot of pride and professional satisfaction seeing how much enjoyment everyone who attended and sampled our food experienced. I see this as a huge success! I look forward to planning the next one.
The most exciting aspect of planning a special event is there are so many cultures and regions to explore; we can go anywhere. One area of the world I have always found fascinating is Malaysia. This area borders the South China Sea, and much of the foods and techniques are a compilation of Dutch and Portuguese settlers, as well as blends of Chinese, Indonesian, and Filipino. I have used ingredients indigenous to this region, such as coconut, curry, banana leaves and sambals.
Time will tell which region remains to be explored next. After writing about this, I am reminded of a plaque that hung in the office of the Dean of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University, where I attended culinary school. It read: “Ein Kuchenchef Kuche ist die Welt,” which translates to “A Chef’s Kitchen is the World.”
