I enjoy living here in sunny Northern California, where we're spoiled by the fresh produce. I couldn't really imagine living anywhere else, especially a place as cold as the South Pole, where there's no naturally grown produce of any kind. And yet, that little fact doesn't stop the chefs down at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Recently chef Michèle Gentille wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal, in which she recounted her Summer as a sous-chef at the South Pole station. She mentioned that they turned mostly frozen and canned products into delicious, nourishing food. Local produce was out of the question as the nearest farm was 3,000 miles away.
In October — when their Summer starts — fresh vegetables arrive from New Zealand on a weather-permitting weekly basis. They also have a greenhouse that produces enough for salad two or three times a week. Using these ingredients, along with other frozen goods, all 10 chefs aimed to cook a menu from Laurent Tourondel's New American Bistro Cooking.
To read an excerpt from her adventure, read more
