Author: Katie Thornton / Source: Atlas Obscura
In July of 2018, Lewis Georgiades ran out of mayonnaise. The British chef has cooked everywhere from small, family-run establishments to Michelin star restaurants in France.
He knows how to problem-solve. At any other kitchen, Georgiades might have offered a nice olive oil and vinegar as a substitute, while a coworker ran out to buy a tub of mayo. But such spur-of-the-moment solutions were impossible this time.That’s because Chef Georgiades’s kitchen is in Antarctica: at the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station. At a latitude of 67 degrees south, July is the dead of winter. Georgiades had tried to warn his diners as they piled mayo high on their plates. They didn’t listen. The next food delivery was three months away.
At Rothera, the population of more than 100 Antarctic researchers and support staff plummets to around 20 when winter hits and cuts the base off from the outside world. Sunlight is a fleeting and peripheral commodity. For about two months each year, the sun never comes above the horizon. Working at Rothera means total isolation from family, friends, and normalcy.
It also means no local produce, no easy delivery of fresh meat, and no trips to the market to purchase herbs, garnishes, or trending ingredients. But that doesn’t stop seasoned chefs from spending anywhere from six months to many years in an Antarctic kitchen. Why? Because cheffing at Rothera gets to the core of why they cook.
“It’s a completely different world, and one far from that of TripAdvisor and food critics,” Georgiades says. “Instead, it’s all about the very basic need of providing good food in order to make people’s day. And keep them happy, and give them a sense of comfort and home through food … That’s what drives me.” At Rothera, there’s one kitchen and nowhere else to eat. The food better be good.
Moroccan tagines. Burritos. Fish and chips. Lamb stew and dumplings. Thai fish curries. This may sound like the offerings available along a stretch of restaurants in London. But it’s actually a sampling of a typical weekly menu available to Rothera’s multinational crew. “Then tomorrow we’re having slow-braised beef bourguignon with caramelized onion mash, fine green beans, and a bitter chocolate tart to finish,” says Georgiades. It’s a big step up from Antarctic explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean eating seal, dog meat, and biscuits mixed with melted snow during the infamous Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914.
Georgiades’s four-person kitchen staff has worked in high-end and Michelin star restaurants from London to the French Alps. They are head chefs, bakers, caterers, and culinary college instructors. Together, they host Sunday roasts (a tradition in England) and full-fledged Thanksgiving dinners. They even celebrate regional holidays such as the pancake-laden Mardi Gras feast of Shrove Tuesday and Burns Night, a birthday party for Scottish poet Robert Burns, complete with haggis, the infamous sheep’s organ pudding.
But this variety requires detailed planning. Whereas most chefs track inventory and place food orders daily or weekly, Georgiades only gets one shot to get everything perfect. Because at Rothera, the food shipment comes once annually. By the time Georgiades ran out of mayo, the…
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