K Staff Training

Hi K Staff!

We are so grateful that you will be serving with us this summer! Your role is incredibly valuable and essential to the success of a JP week.

One of our goals each week is to provide nourishing and delicious meals so that our campers and staff have the energy they need to complete their jobs.  A great meal also makes people feel good and builds morale.  You may recall that one of our 8 Core Values is Excellence, and campers tell us all the time that our food is very, very good!  We love to hear that!  But maintaining that level of excellence requires intentionality and attention to every detail when preparing and serving meals.

That's not all, though. The actual food is only part of the equation. Hospitality and finding joy in serving is the other part. So many big moments in Jesus's ministry revolved around feeding people. Remember when He fed thousands of people with just a couple loaves of bread and a few fish? Or when He changed Zaccheus's life with just one dinner?

So much happens around a table: connections are made, community is established, fun and laughter break out, and faith is grown. So K Staff is more than getting up early or washing dishes. It's an invitation to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to serve others with the heart of hospitality. You get to welcome your JP Family to the table!

Thank you!

1. Your priority is getting Kitchen Work done before joining in other camp activities.
2. Do not use your phone in view of campers! If you have finished your duties, join in the camp activities and fun.
3. K Staff eats meals in the kitchen, instead of at the dining tables. This way you can be ready when it's time for seconds or breaking out the desserts.
4. Listen to your Kitchen Lead! Defer to the expectations he or she sets for how the work will be done for the week.
5. Be a team player. K Staff is a team and everyone has a role to play, so if your teammate needs a hand, offer yours.
6. Check in at the time your Kitchen Lead has assigned (for breakfast and dinner prep).

Knife Safety:

- Cut away from your body. Aim the knife away from your body in case it slips or slides through whatever you're cutting, and curl your fingers inward while holding items.
- Use a secure cutting board. Check that your cutting surface doesn’t slide. Never use your hand as a cutting board or cut food over the sink.
- Let the knife fall. Avoid trying to catch a falling knife. Letting it hit the floor and washing it off is a lot easier than dealing with a nasty cut. Remember to pick a knife up by the handle, not the blade.
- Wash knives in plain view. Don't toss dirty knives into a sink full of soapy water. You or someone else could reach in and get cut.
- Keep knives in a knife block or knife holder.

Safety Tips for Stove Top Use:

- Turn handles inwards. Prevent accidents by turning pot and pan handles inward, toward the stove. This will help avoid spills and burns.
- Lift lids away from you. When taking the lid off a hot pot, tilt it so any hot steam or spraying liquids are aimed away from you. 
- Keep your oven mitts dry. A wet or damp hot pad or oven mitt becomes ineffective, transferring a lot more burning heat to your hand than a dry one.
- Mark hot lids and handles. Leave a hot pad on the lid or handle of pots and pans that just came off the stove so that no one accidentally gets burned.

Fire Safety:

- Store flammables. Never leave or store rags, towels or paper items near the stove or other heat-generating surfaces. 
- Have fire extinguishers. Keep a fire extinguisher at hand, as well as a box of baking soda for grease or oil fires.
- Attend to items. Always attend to an open flame or active heat source in the kitchen. Don't walk out of the kitchen or leave heating pots and pans unwatched. If a fire breaks out, immediately turn off the heat source if possible.
- Secure and inspect cords. Confirm appliance cords aren't frayed or melted by inspecting them regularly.

Additional Kitchen Tips:

- Clean up spills immediately, on the floor and counters. 
- Clean counters frequently (after working with raw meat, sticky sauces, etc)
- Use separate boards for meat and vegetables. This will reduce the chance of cross-contamination.
- Wear close-toed shoes in the kitchen. 
- Wash your hands frequently. This will help reduce the risk of transferring harmful bacteria to yourself or your food.
- Wash dishes in hot water with soap. Cold water will not clean grease!
- Wear gloves when serving food.
- Tie long hair back when cooking and serving.

Bonus tips for the Romney Kitchen:
- The stoves at camp have a permanent pilot light. Never place flammables on the stove.
- When working with the warming drawers, use a mit or towel to protect your hands so they don't get cut.
- Trailer is for dry storage only. All food stored in the trailer should be sealed and unopened. Never store open food in the trailer!
- Do not plug more than one appliance into the outlet between the kitchen door and the sink. It will flip a breaker!