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HEAD CHEF
GUIDE
Table of Contents
Introduction …………………………………….…….…………………………………………………………………..…… p 2
The Head Chef and Kitchen Staff Roles …………….….………………………..…….……..……………..…… p 3
Budget ………...………………………………….…………………………………..............................................… p 4
Before camp ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. p 5
During camp ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. p 7
After camp ……….………………………………….……………………………………………………………………..….. p 11
Last words …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....… p 11
2013 Camp Summary (Milly C. & Verity L.) ……………………………………………………………………… p 12
Appendix A: 2013 Master shopping list …………………………………………………………………………… p13
Appendix B: 2013 Recipes …………………………………………………………………………. see additional file

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Introduction
First of all, Congratulations on accepting the role of Head Chef at this year’s HEC camp!
Not only have you volunteered yourself as a part of the HEC team, but you have offered your
help to be the biggest part of HEC camp itself. Without your help, students and volunteers alike
may shrivel from thirst and hunger from 5 long days of intense fun and activities. Jokes aside,
HEC camp offers the biggest and best experience for JHS and HS students from all over
Hokkaido, and I would like to sincerely thank you for taking up this bold position.
There is a lot of work and volunteer hours that go into planning the entire camp’s menu and
schedules, but needless to say, this may be one of the best experiences that you as an ALT will
encounter in Hokkaido. This position is one of the most rewarding, as you will be able to see
students and volunteers devour all that you have created and satisfy their bellies with rich
foreign foods that they have been missing for so long. Amongst past campers, meals were often
considered as one of their highlights of camp.
This guide was made as a way to help ease the process of handling over the head chef position
from year to year. It contains information, tips and everything you need to know on how to
prepare for and successfully execute the camp. It has been compiled from previous head chefs
since HEC camp 2013. A number of important files will be passed along with this guide, please
read and use them as guidelines to plan this year’s camp.
To prevent from feeling overwhelmed, read this guide as you need it. It should answer most
questions you may have had before taking on this role. We hope that you will feel comfortable
with the responsibility as head chef, and that you make sensible decisions if no precedence has
been documented. It is also the understanding that you too will contribute to this guide once
you have finished your role as head chef, adding to the wealth of knowledge, and that you will
pass this guide on to the next enthusiastic volunteer to take up this role.
Remember that throughout all your worries and hard work, you will be making an incredible
impact on the lives of these students in unimaginable ways. You are helping to create an
unforgettable experience and we hope you make this year’s camp better than the last!
Good luck!

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The Head Chef Role
Descriptions from the HEC Camp Coordinator Guide:
Head Chef
“The head chef is a very important position, almost equally as important as a camp coordinator
as they are responsible for about half of the camp budget. They have many important
responsibilities such as creating a menu for the duration of camp, managing the food budget,
ensuring cleanliness, and overseeing the kitchen staff. They must be very organized and have at
least some experience with cooking for large groups. In previous years the head chef has been
able to borrow the kitchen equipment from their Board of Education, dramatically decreasing
camp costs. If the head chef is unable to procure kitchen equipment then it must be rented,
therefore, it is a good idea to find someone who will commit to head chef as early as possible so
that you can figure out your budget and determine whether or not you need to rent kitchen
equipment.”
“Head Chef is also responsible for coordinating all the kitchen equipment (rice cooker, burners,
utensils, etc.), purchasing the food, delegating duties and supervising the kitchen staff, and
ensuring sanitation and cleanliness. They must also be able to lead assertively under time
constraints as the kitchen can be hectic at times.”
Kitchen Staff
“The kitchen staffs are permanent positions and will work in the kitchen area, cooking, cleaning,
and helping to prepare meals for the duration of camp. They will work directly under the Head
Chef.”
In 2013, the head chef position was filled by two volunteers. This worked out well, as they were
both informed of the position in June, and two heads work better than one. Preferably, this role
is sought out early on by previous head chefs, HEC camp coordinator or HEC coordinator.
Regardless of the situation, it is up to the HEC camp coordinator and head chefs to decide how
many people should take on this role, year by year. As this requires much commitment,
communication and responsibility, it is suggested that no more than 2 volunteers take on this
role.
It is also vital that you communicate swiftly with the HEC camp coordinator and/or your head
chef counterpart. They are the ones who will give you budget estimates and other important
information before you make an order or decision. This brings us to our next topic: the budget.

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Budget
According to past budget reports from HEC, these amounts were used for food and other
related purchases for camps of the following years, including the number of people:
2007 – ¥ 247,641, 78 people
2008 – ¥ 216,547, 85 people
2009 – ¥ 231,000, 86 people
2010 – ¥ 247,310, 84 people
2012 – ¥ 372,732, 74 people * 2011 camp was cancelled due to a bear sighting.
2013 – ¥ 405,383, 91 people
2014 – estimated ¥ 365,000 to ¥ 385,000 for 85 people
These numbers cover 13 meals: 4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 4 dinners. As you can see, the
influx of spending in 2013 was due to an increase of volunteers. HOWEVER, the original budget
set by HEC was about ¥250,000 - ¥325,000 per year. The goal is to keep the costs to a minimum
but we are generally guaranteed a large donation from HAJET, although it has been steadily
declining in the past few years.
In 2013, no clear budget was given to head chefs by the HEC camp coordinator, thus, allowing
over ordering, resulting in a lot of foods left over. We were able to make about ¥26,000 back by
selling the foods to volunteers at the end of camp, and gave a number of the fresh vegetables
to the Kenbuchi BOE. A lot of the over ordering could have been avoided if enough time was
given to head chefs to plan ahead and to double check with previous campers.
In the past, food has been ordered from various vendors. A majority of the food should be
ordered from the local grocery store in town. It was then freshly delivered to the kitchen daily
(except Sunday -> double delivery on Saturday). The best way to do this is to contact the local
ALT in town (Mike DeLue in Higashikagura), and get him to talk to the grocery store in person.
Make a list (including items Japanese) for him, and include daily delivery amounts and preferred
time of delivery.
Unfortunately, we will be moving campsites from Kenbuchi to Higashi-Kagura this year, so we
will also lose the huge frozen food storage faculty that was available during the last two years.
This will affect the amount of frozen foods that can be bought and storage in the regular sized
refrigerators that are available at Higashi-Kagura, please keep this in mind.
Online vendors include:
- Amazon.jp
- Yoyomarket.com
- Themeatguy.jp
- www.fbcusa.com
Foreign food stores include:
- Jupiter (Sapporo station underground)
- Kaldi (Asahikawa / Sapporo / online)
- Costco (Kita-Hiroshima)
- Tomizawa (Sapporo Tower)

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Before Camp
Menu schedule from Camp 2013:
Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Breakfast* Egg, sausage,
beans, bread,
soy milk,
yogurt, milk,
juice, cereal
Bagels, egg
Bread, soy
milk, yogurt,
milk, juice,
cereal
Oatmeal
(milk and soy
versions)
Bread, soy
milk, yogurt,
milk, juice,
cereal
Bacon, egg,
bread, soy
milk, yogurt,
milk, juice,
cereal
Lunch Tuna salad,
Egg salad,
sandwiches,
juice boxes
fruit
Tomato soup,
grilled cheese
sandwiches
Vietnamese
salad rolls,
pho noodles
Dinner Italian pesto
pasta,
Bolognese,
French bread,
salad
Vegan curry,
chicken curry,
(Cream stew-
allergy)
salad, rice
Mexican
dinner,
tortillas,
guacamole,
fried beans
BBQ dinner –
burgers,
potato salad,
hot dog
* We also served left over food from the previous day during breakfast and lunch while they
were still fresh and edible.
Other food items include:
- Condiments – ketchup, mustard, relish
- Jam/ peanut butter/ butter
- Salad dressing
In addition, we provided juice, iced tea throughout the day and granola bars and snacks
between meals. Head chef and kitchen staffs are responsible for keeping these stocked since
kids will be hot and dehydrated from all the fun and intense activities camp has to offer. I
suggest ordering fewer snacks and granola bars this year as one entire box of granola bars were
left over and the snacks were not eaten.
Bulk buys vs. local buy
- Bulk buy can be cost effective for dried and canned goods
- Local buy helps give back to the community and increase HEC’s reputation
- Make you don’t double order anything – cross check both lists
- Bulk by of perishable goods requires sufficient cold storage space

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Allergies and special requirements
- You should receive information about kids’ allergies from the HEC camp coordinator.
- Sometimes it may be best to not purchase anything with the allergen in it, if the allergen
is not a staple food.
- Alternatively, you may have to provide an alternative dish for some kids. In 2013 there
was a kid who could not eat any kind of spice. On curry night, a separate dish of cream
stew was provided.
o Try to keep alternative foods in line with the main dish.
- It is likely that there will be some vegetarian and vegan ALTs at camp. Try to
accommodate them as much as possible. Email them about specifics of what they
need/can provide for themselves well before the camp.

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During Camp
Schedule/ kitchen staff
- Make a rota paper to pass round at the first meeting. Ask people to write down three or
more slots which they can do for kitchen duty. This way you’ll avoid big schedule clashes
when drawing up the final rota
- Don’t schedule both group leaders from one group on the same kitchen duty
- Use a whiteboard to show who is on kitchen duty – display it in camp
- Get the phone numbers of everyone on kitchen duty
- You may have to chase people to get them to turn up on time (playing with kids is more
appealing than peeling vegetables!)
- Have one or both head chefs in the kitchen for each meal prep and clean up shift
- Don’t do all three cooking shifts in a day – it is much more tiring than you expect!
- Each meal has its advantages and disadvantages
o Breakfast requires a very early start, but the least cooking
o Lunch doesn’t require as much cooking as dinner, but falls in the busiest part of
the day
o Dinner requires the most cooking; it may have to be started almost as soon as
lunch is cleaned up, the preparation time is also during a busy period, but the
clean-up is during a quieter period.
Clean-up staff
- Again, it can be hard to get some clean up staff to come on time. Some other ALTs may
offer to help out, but try to make sure everyone knows their responsibilities at the
morning meeting. Of course, flexibility is important, but unpleasant jobs should be
shared fairly.
- While cooking, try to do as much clean up as you can, but only if you have a lot of time
- A head chef should be there to make sure everything is put back in the proper place,
ready for the next meal.
- Make sure you have enough sponges and washing up liquid

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Junior leader help
- The junior leaders are very useful
- It is also one of the few times the head chefs will have to interact with the kids, so make
the experience count
- Japanese students have typically learned cooking skills at school and are competent
- Junior leaders will also appreciate learning about foreign cooking styles in English
- Write them thank you letters!
Transportation
- Ideally, you need someone with a van or very large car to move the food.
- Call for the person to come pick up the food with plenty of time.
- Time how long it takes to drive between the kitchen and the campsite, add an additional
10 minutes for loading.
- You will also need to transport the kitchen staff and junior leaders back for meals
- The head chefs need at least one car, ideally two, especially on the first day
Meal distribution
Example diagram of serving set up:
Serving table
ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT ALT
Bread Salad Soup BreadSoup Salad
Group A Group B

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Timing
- Timing is very important!
- In 2013 the timing was quite good.
- In 2012 the timing was not so good. This led to wasted time and bored hungry kids
- It’s better to have dishes done early and keep it hot, rather than be frantically trying to
get it cooked in time.
- Factor in the time it takes for the transportation to arrive at the kitchen.
- Put timings in your recipes.
- It’s better to go to the kitchen early rather than struggle for time later.
Keeping kids hydrated
- Hokkaido summer is hot! And kids are often having too much fun to stop and drink. Stop
dehydration before it becomes a problem!
- Talk to the Group Leaders at one of the first camp meetings. Suggest that they
implement drink breaks every hour or so and get them to really encourage the kids to
drink.
- There should always be chilled drinks in dispensers available at the campsite
- You can also make very cost effective cold fruit tea. Make it at breakfast. Then you can
add ice and put it out at or after lunch
Equipment you will need at the campsite
- Kettle and burner
- Cool box
- Drinks dispensers
- Ice
- Spare plates, cutlery, and cups (plastic ones from the HEC supply)
- Washing up soap and sponges (for kids clean up)
- Serving utensils
- Serving Tables
- Insect repellent and fly strips
- Plastic wrap (cellophane)

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Equipment you will need at the kitchen (if you are cooking at a community centre a lot of this
should be available there. Check you know where everything is when you arrive.)
- Pots, pans etc.
- Serving bowls and trays
- Plastic wrap, foil (bring your own)
- Food processor, blender etc. (may not be available)
- Can opener (may not be available)
- Wooden spoons, knives etc.
- Gomi bags (nama/moeru)
- Rice cookers
Reimbursements
- keep all receipts and a record of who paid them
- Write your name on the back of the receipt if you paid for it
- give the receipts to the camp coordinator
Recruit head chef for next year
- Ask around and see if anyone wants the job
- They don’t have to be someone who helped out this year

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After Camp
Last clean up
- Aim to leave all borrowed equipment and spaces in a better state than you found them
in
- This is very important for HEC’s reputation and continued local support
- Arrange storage for HEC cooking equipment
Sell left over edible food
- ALTs can get food that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to find easily in Hokkaido
- Use this money to offset some of the food costs
Thank all your helpers
- Ostukare!
- Write everyone thank you letters
Work on head chef guide
- There is still much to be said, especially since the camp site will have changed between
2013 and 2014
2013 Camp Summary
Things we learned
- We ordered too much milk because we didn’t offset the added amount of soy milk. If
you make a change in quantity, think how it will affect the consumption of other foods
- Working all three shifts, breakfast, lunch and dinner is not advised.
- Have the two head chefs alternate between cooking and clean up supervision in the
kitchen to provide a rest
- Bring your own can opener!!!
- Bring your own kitchen tools such as blenders or food processors.
- Wear really comfortable shoes!
- Print out really clear recipes to make delegation easier
- Make several copies as they will probably get lost or messy
- Potatoes are a hassle. Avoid them
- Huge rice cookers are great!
- Consider making an updateable and sharable Google spreadsheet to record the
shopping list, prices and what has been purchased etc.

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- You will need slightly less food on each subsequent day, if you can safely store the
leftovers from the day before and serve them again. This is particularly true of bread
- Have a kettle and burner at the campsite for boiling water
- Unless you have excellent facilities at the campsite, don’t try to BBQ there.
- If you really want to BBQ on site, start the fires early!
Popular foods and menu adjustments
- From a very informal survey, the foods most popular with the kids were the BBQ and
the Pho.
- The snacks put out for kids to eat during the day were not very popular. They were too
busy to eat!
- Some kids had difficulty with spicy foods, but others loved it. Consider making different
spice levels of any spicy foods. Mild and hot should be sufficient.
Last Words
The Head Chef role is vital for HEC. It may not be the most glamorous job, but without you none
of the rest of the good work of HEC Camp would be possible.

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Appendix A: 2013 Master shopping list
9400g Rotini (corckscrew pasta)
9400g Spaghetti
18 Loaves French Bread
Pesto (Vegan) 2 jars
3 kg Ground Beef
1.5 kg ground pork
1800 ml Tomato paste (18 x 100ml)
18 cans tinned chopped tomatoes
9 onions
9 carrots
18 Japanese eggplant
10 garlic bulbs
90g Basil
45g Oregano
45g salt
45g pepper
405 ml oil
6 lettuce
12 tomatoes
12 cucumbers
3 carrots
6 red peppers
2 red cabbage
900 ml balsamic vinegar
1800 ml olive oil
405 ml honey
2 garlic cloves
600 g red lentils
11 medium onions
17 medium carrots
6 red peppers
400ml light olive oil or vegetable oil
34 cloves garlic
393 g fresh ginger
6 whole red chilli
83 mL ground coriander
83 mL ground cumin
83 mL ground cinnamon
83 mL paprika
83 mL turmeric
83 mL garam masala
11 x 400 g tinned plum tomatoes
1 L water
1 L tinned coconut milk
110 mL tomato puree
10 kg Chicken Breast
600g chickpeas
23 onion
11 red pepper
11 green pepper
2 L plain yoghurt
1 L single cream
1 medium (red) onion
1 courgette (zucchini)
1 pack Japanese Eggplant
100 g mushrooms
1 red pepper
150 g cauliflower (If available
1 pack Japanese Cream Stew Roux

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30kg potatoes
1200g mayonnaise
300 dijon mustard
2 onions
24 eggs
9 dill pickles
Horseradish 90ml
Cherry tomatoes 6 boxes
100 bamboo skewers
2kg chicken (small pieces)
2kg pork (small pieces)
15 green peppers
90 ml soy sauce
375g white sugar
300ml sesame oil
180g toasted sesame seeds
80g flour
Black pepper
30 corn on the cob
100 burgers
100 buns
2 bottles ketchup
2 bottles mustard
5 bags marshmallows
10 bars chocolate
5 boxes cookies
18 pickles
6 lettuce
12 tomatoes
12 cucumber
3 carrots
6 red peppers
2 red cabbage
1200 ml salad dressing
Breakfasts
8 Boxes Cornflakes
8 Boxes Raisin Bran
20 x 25 slice loafs
16 x 500 ml yogurt
20 x Fruit Salad cans (851g)
64 L Milk
32 L Soy Milk
40 L Orange Juice
1 box black tea
1 box green tea
1 box fruity tea
Coffee 1 Can
45 ml Oil
Jam 2 x 1500g Jar
Peanut butter 2 x 1500g Jar
Marmalade 2 x 1500g Jar
10 cartons eggs (100 eggs)
18 pack sausages
24 tins Baked Beans
20kg potatoes
6 x 25 slice packs bacon
Bagels 3 x 12 pack
Cream Cheese 800 ml
English Breakfast Muffins 3 x 25 pack
10 cartons eggs
4 kg porridge oats
15 l milk
2 l Maple Syrup
18 cans tuna
2 big jars mayonnaise
60 eggs
3 onions
6 cucumbers
6 x 15 pita breads
6 lettuce
24 tomatoes
6 x 20 slice meat pack
6 x 20 slice cheese pack

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90 juice boxes
30 bananas
30 apples
30 oranges
90 cookies
90 bags of chips
200 corn tortillas
3000g grated cheddar cheese
8 kg minced beef
25 tomatoes
2kg silk tofu
2kg salsa chips
2 x 2 pack salsa
2 x 2 pack guacamole
Carrots 40
Daikon 4
15 onions
600g ginger
56 L Beef consommé
14 sticks cinnamon
3 packs star anise
Nam Pla fish sauce 1000ml
Sugar
Your first born child
Thinly Sliced beef 7 kg
Rice noodle 7 kg
Bean sprouts 3 kg
Tofu 3 packs
90 tail cooked shrimp
5 lettuce
18 cucumbers
18 carrots
90 sheets rice paper
54 cans tomato soup
4 L milk
1 pack 108 fresh cheese slices
200 slices bread
22 tomatoes
22 small cabbages
22 carrots
12 brocolli
22 red peppers
Lemon juice 2 large bottles