Antarctic Research Station Posts Job Listing For New Executive Chef

Being an executive chef is hard. You have to do physically taxing work for long hours, while most people with non-culinary jobs are relaxing, eating and drinking. You have to manage food supplies, food suppliers, and an entire kitchen staff. You have to write recipes, keeping up with the latest developments in the culinary world and maintaining high quality, seven days a week.

Now imagine doing all this 10,000 miles from home, without reliable access to drinking water, fresh meat or produce, in a place where temperatures rarely rise above freezing.

That, in short, is the task that will be assigned to the brave soul who ends up as the Executive Chef of the McMurdo research station in Antarctica, home to over 1,000 summertime residents. NANA Services, the company that manages the stations' operations and food services, has just posted a job listing for the job on Denver Craigslist. The executive chef spends seven months of the year in Antarctica and the other five months at the company headquarters in Colorado. NANA says they're looking for someone with "Bachelor's Degree, Culinary Arts Degree and a minimum of seven (7) years cooking experience, with at least three (3) years of supervisory responsibilities in high-volume, (not including convenience of fast-food), facilities with diverse populations." Pay is not specified.

One small potential upside of being a chef in Antarctica is that there is no need to wrangle with local suppliers. Bulk food is shipped from Los Angeles to McMurdo Station just once a year, in February. During the summer (which lasts from November to March), fresh meat, fruit and vegetables are flown in from New Zealand, which is just five hours away.

Here's the full Craigslist posting:

Comments

[Rendy Bee Mulyono]

08:16 AM on 07/02/2011

oh to be away from society...what a privilege

[Montana 123]

08:54 PM on 07/01/2011

I knew someone that was there. She went down every August (if memory serves me right). Had been doing it for years.

[EveAngelReturns]

08:22 AM on 06/30/2011

you think all those scientists are doing it with each other out there?

[tyrant510]

02:57 AM on 07/01/2011

ha! of course.

[WhatUpKaohsiung]

07:49 PM on 06/29/2011

The pay is pretty poor for this job, the hours are long and the work is often arduous, however, the perks are great - here's a write up I did about my experiences working in Antarctica: http://www.vagabumming.com/its-not-just-another-job/

[mikala]

12:31 AM on 06/30/2011

Read your article and you are one of the lucky few because 99% of the people who work for RPSC never come close to most of your experiences. There is less recreational opportunity now than under ASA and even the bowling ally in Mactown is gone now.

[jayquintana]

06:24 PM on 06/29/2011

A little OT, but Werner Herzog has a great doc on Antarctica -- Encounters at the End of the World.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MImYM87jOtU

[tyrant510]

02:59 AM on 07/01/2011

thanks for this. i love herzog and was not aware of this film.

[proudem]

05:31 PM on 06/29/2011

So...what is the salary????

[blurredmolly]

02:30 PM on 06/30/2011

Wouldn't matter to me.

[ArChiMi]

04:49 PM on 06/29/2011

Well this requires a good CEO salary with all the trimmings.

[blurredmolly]

02:29 PM on 06/30/2011

Wouldn't matter to me.

[blurredmolly]

02:30 PM on 06/30/2011

wrong place

[cavekarst]

04:07 PM on 06/29/2011

I thought Albany, N.Y., had cold take-out
until reading Antarctica chef qualifications.
Excuse me, please, if I don't step up to that.

[mikala]

03:51 PM on 06/29/2011

without reliable access to drinking water, fresh meat or produce, in a place where temperatures rarely rise above freezing.

BULL! There is plenty of water made by reverse osmosis. Fresh meat is available in the summer season from New Zealand and frozen meat arrives on the resupply vessel and is kept in a huge freezer building. As for fresh vegetables during the summer season they get flown in from new Zealand and during the winter the greenhouse produces enough for salads once in awhile. The problem is not the availability of food it is the quality. The National Science Foundation and NANA spend under $6/day per person and while the food is better than it was before 2000 it is nothing to get excited about.

I have seen the temperature at McMurdo above 50 degrees whereas the South Pole Station rarely gets above 0.

[HighDesertBob]

02:42 PM on 06/29/2011

I understand from those who have been there, the food there is great. A good variety and very well presented. I guess being in such an inhospitable place there has to be something to sweeten the deal for those stationed there. I should think, though, things are pretty good shortly after the deliveries are made but get a bit mundane toward the end of the season and stocks are running a bit low.

[PRONESE]

12:39 PM on 06/29/2011

Fresh Produce "Freshies" are flown from Christchurch New Zealand to McMurdo Station on board C-130, LC-130 and C-17 aircraft during the Summer season between October and March. Mail and other items are flown there also. The Winter Over crew live on stored food brought in during the Summer exclusively.
R/ PRONESE

[Targetdog]

12:10 PM on 06/29/2011

Sounds awesome, but the commute is a beyotch!