Reflections on Closure
Closing the Kitchen for the Season
Why be sad about leaving grueling work behind?
I didn’t expect to be so affected by the end of this season at Omega Institute for Holistic Studies.
This was my third season as Garde Manger — making salads and being the general steward of all things on the cold line. We serve between 100 and 800 people three meals a day from June through the end of October.
Luminaries such as Pema Chodron, Brian Weiss, Elizabeth Lesser, Elizabeth Gilbert, Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams, Resmaa Menakem, among others, grace this holistic learning and retreat center. And I get to prepare meals for the attendees. My favorite offerings are an Asian smashed cucumber salad, tabouleh and my own secret recipe of curry chicken salad. It’s something I learned from my surrogate mother and Jungian psychologist mentor in my teens. I channel her memory each time I make it. It’s the single most popular dish at Omega and sells out in 30 minutes, no matter what quantity I prepare.
Last summer, I got to meet and be a sous chef for Chef Sean Sherman, indigenous food genius and James Beard Award winner. He instructed me on how to make a foraged tea, and gave me the autonomy and voice to give it a name — Lenape Land Foraged Tea, for the indigenous peoples…
