Order up! Camp Danbee welcomed new leadership to its kitchen team this summer: Culinary Director Meg Liperi and Head Chef Chris Dancesia. New chefs mean new dishes, new meals, and new opinions. We wanted to know which year’s food WriCampians prefers between the two. Our investigation considered not just taste but also options for those with special dietary needs as well as variety generally.
There were very mixed opinions overall on which year’s food was better.
One of the popular dishes from last summer that stood out to campers and counselors alike was the pasta. Unfortunately, campers this year aren’t very happy with the new pasta. Some have complained about “false advertising,” where on the first lunch, there was supposedly “macaroni and cheese,” but it tasted more like plain pasta. The lunch after that, the exact same thing happened, but in reverse; what was advertised as plain pasta turned out to be macaroni and cheese. There were also complaints about a lot of raw pieces of macaroni in campers’ pasta. With that said, a lot of the Senior Campers much prefer the new menu and dishes. Some new favorites, courtesy of Culinary Director Meg and Head Chef Chris, include the brownie-centric dessert, tater tots, and spring rolls. “I love them spring rolls,” said Senior Camper Maya S. Lower Camper Matt M. interjected, saying, “They were good but I can’t have them as a full meal, like after three, I’m done.”
“I had twenty,” Maya S. replied.
It seems this year there are a variety of options for those with dietary restrictions, too. Instructor Hannah really liked the vegan taco filling for Taco Tuesday, and prefers this year’s vegan options to last year’s.
Since so many campers prefer this year’s food, we decided to speak to the cooks themselves. I interviewed Danny and Shanya, a talkative duo with a love for their jobs at Danbee.
What is your role in the kitchen?
Danny: “Different tasks every day, but in my case, my main task is the salad bar. After I’m done, I help in the kitchen with serving.”
Shanya: “Helping the chefs in the kitchen with the chefs that they need to complete, whether it be preparing something or plating food.”
How does your team help us get good food?
Danny: “A lot of communication because we are aware that we are one team. Before serving something, we make sure it looks good and tastes good.”
Shanya: “It’s been two months, but we see ourselves as a small family, feeding a big family. If you’re not going to put it in your mouth, we’re not going to give it to someone else.”
How well do you think you provide for those with dietary restrictions?
Danny: “We avoid food that can be dangerous for people. For example, we know that a lot of people have allergies to pineapple, so we rarely serve it to anyone and we avoid cross contamination.”
Shanya: “We are well aware of people with dietary restrictions, like me, so we try to provide the best that we can because they deserve good food like everyone else.”
What got you interested in cooking, and more specifically, what brought you to Danbee?
Danny: “We had a fast food restaurant at home, and I learned a lot from that, and I worked a lot there. I really liked to cook. I really like good food and I love cooking.”
Shanya: “My grandparents had a bakery, my aunt has a bakery, a small place where she sells desserts, and my mom loves to cook even though she doesn’t do it regularly. I think for me it’s because I can see the smiles when they eat.”
Anything you’d like to add?
Danny: “I love being here. I think that this is a wonderful place, and even though the work sometimes turns hard, we have a very good team, and all the people in the kitchen are well prepared, and the chefs are the best people in the world. Sometimes you feel that it’s so hard today, but the people make it better.”
Shanya: “Teamwork makes dream work. I found good people in my life, and I take the phrase ‘We are one small family’ hard. We even call our Meg, the chef, M‘Mama.’”
We WriCampians are very grateful for all the good food provided to us by Danbee’s hard-working kitchen staff. ✎
