L’equipe culinaire de l’hotel Noble

The NOLS rations are awesome. Period. Claudia Pearson and Stefani Smith have got the system down and have gotten really creative–they send students out with ingredients to make mouth-watering treats like cinnamon rolls, gado-gado (a Thai peanut sauce and noodle dish), pizza, brownies, quiche, cookies, and much more (and if you want to know more about The Gulch, check out Paul’s last blog post).

However…there are a lot of times when you’re out in the field working hard to cook for yourself, and all you can do is think about hot meals made for you (by somebody else) with food items that you don’t necessarily get out in the field (barbecue sauce!). And that’s when the Noble Hotel’s kitchen staff comes into play. Chances are, you won’t see a NOLS student more satisfied or happy as when they’re (showered but also) coming out of the Noble Hotel Dining Hall ridiculously full and happy. I can still remember what I had for my first meal back at the Noble after my course–one of the best meals of my life (and it DID involve barbecue sauce)!

A trio (Gnat Wells, Jo Nelsen and Daniel Steele) of the famous kitchen staff was kind enough to take some time out of their busy schedule (they’re serving two semester courses right now) for a chat, and this is what they had to say:

What would you say is the mission statement of the Noble Kitchen?

Gnat Wells (GW): To provide meals constructed of nutritious, attractive food in adequate quantities to NOLS courses. To provide this service with a professional attitude and presentation and to fulfill the meals and road food dictated by the operating plan with 100% accuracy.

Daniel Steele (DS): Wow, we aim high!

GW: Yes, but we’ve never missed a meal and we served a meal late only one time last year.

What can students (or staff or interns) do that you really appreciate?

Jo Nelsen (JN): Dishes (and on time)!

DS: Leave the dining hall after dinner and go hang out in the lobby.

GW: Pay attention (to instructions, to signs, to what’s going on).

How did each of you end up at NOLS?

DS: I needed a job and found an ad in the paper. I had worked for a year and a half as a dishwasher in Oregon, so I had the experience.

JN: I was tired of sitting! I worked as a coal miner for almost 20 years in Craig, Colorado, but used to help prep food at a cafeteria when I was younger. When I moved to Lander, a friend of mine told me about a position that had opened up. I started in August of 2007. Gnat didn’t even call my references!

GW: I figured that if she had held her last job for 20 years, she must have been doing something right! I was a student almost 40 years ago in June of 1970. After my course, I became a field instructor, then worked in town when The Gulch and the kitchen were still combined (with one goal–food)! That was between 1974 and 1977.* Then I moved to Dubois for 30 years where I owned a restaurant. I came back in November of 2006 and have been here ever since!

What is your favorite thing about working in the Noble Kitchen?

JN: The “gluten-free/vegan challenge”!

GW: Bringing the elements together and having it all ready on time. Every time we do it, it’s like “YES! We did it again!”

Favorite dish to cook?

DS: Fish tacos. Or the banquet meal. It smells so good–baked tomatoes, roasted potatoes, steak.

GW: We use six heads of garlic in that meal!

If each of you were a different ingredient, what would each be and why?

DS: Salt. Because it makes everything better!

GW: Eggs. Because they take on so many different forms.

JN: Onions. Because I like onions in stuff! But maybe red peppers…

GW: I think Jo would be walnuts because she uses them in everything!

Not only can they cook, Gnat, Jo, Daniel and staff have got pretty incredible stories to share! So, stop into the Noble Kitchen for some fresh fish tacos, a piece of Jo’s to-die-for chocolate zucchini cake, and some really fabulous company. Thanks to the trio of “experts culinaires de l’hotel Noble” for their time and energy!

*Gnat had a new range installed in 1975. Gnat retired the 1975 range yesterday just before the interview. She had it replaced (and updated) with a shiny new range that the whole staff is pretty excited about!