4 ms·

Behind the Scenes: The pots, pans, and people that make millions of meals

116 points by prostoalex 4y ago

rrauenza 4y ago
> In our central relief kitchen in Przemyśl, Poland, we have eight paella pans; each one can feed up to 3000 people. WOW. That's a PAN!
- tclancy 4y ago
  Bunyan-esque.
- joezydeco 4y ago
  If you like those pictures check out Harmandir Sahib, the Sikh shrine that feeds 100,000 people a day: https://www.insider.com/worlds-largest-community-kitchen-golden-temple-india-feeds-100000-daily-2021-5 https://www.insider.com/worlds-largest-community-kitchen-gol...
  - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
    For context - there's 1655 calories in a pound of uncooked rice. Assuming the average meal is >400 calories - you need about 25,000 pounds of rice. That's 500 50-lb bags. That's a lot of food and work if all you were doing was just boiling rice!
AlbertCory 4y ago
from the transcript of [1]: (there are the giant paella pans, and then there's the FIRE!) ==== I fell in love with making the fire. Until one day I told my dad, why don't you let me cook? He said, no, I need you to do the fire. Yeah, but I know how to make the fire. Make somebody else make the fire. I want to cook. No, I need you to do the fire. Paella and fire, hand by hand. If you don't have the right fire, it will never be a right paella. One day, he got very upset, very upset, a big tantrum. He sent me to the forest, "Go to the forest." When we finished, he came and said, "My son, I know you were upset because I'm not letting you cook and you think that cooking is the most important part. But, actually, I gave you the most important task. That was making the fire. If you control the fire, then and only then one day, you'll be able to cook." Since then, I've been always trying to search what really is my fire, what really is what holds everything else. The cooking is the obvious. When we are able to achieve success in the non-obvious is when things begin moving. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD3DNohjBpE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD3DNohjBpE
memish 4y ago
After reading this, I have to say, it's making me rethink my use of DoorDash and putting that money toward relief kitchens instead. I can eat less and cook more.
- downut 4y ago
  If you cooked your own food from fundamentals, it would be difficult to eat worse than DoorDash, it would be immensely cheaper, and you could send the difference to WFC. Big win win. But it's too hard! It takes too much time! Well, you need a freezer, and a plan, but for HN readers, I think everyone can handle it. Also it's fun buying spices from Penzeys and making up big batches of Indian food, stews of many different cuisines, risottos with many different combinations of yummy things, etc. You eat your fill of the big batch and then it's quart and gallon labelled freezer bags for the rest. Nuke 'em during the week and you're good to go. If you're young, it's a great way to entertain friends, and potentially partners.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    The hardest part I find with self-cooking is keeping the greens fresh and in stock. A whole head of lettuce is large for just a single hamburger.
    - downut 4y ago
      Lettuce is not a very good value for the buck in terms of either nutrition or satiating qualities. Neither is an apple, but at least you can make a pork and apple stewed dish that is delicious, scales and will freeze amazingly well. US Southerners have a rich culinary tradition of meat and "greens" stews that do the same. When I was at grad school at UF almost 40 years ago the Hare Krishnas cooked vegetarian Indian lunches at scale free for anyone right on the main quad. It was good, we ate it, even though we could afford a burrito (with lettuce) from Burrito Brothers whenever we wanted. If you look at what either José Andrés or the cooks for the Sikh Temple are serving, they cook for the purpose, not for ephemeral desires. My point, I want to emphasize, is that we culinary plebes can cook for the purpose and it be delicious and nutritious, with a freezer and a plan. Ship the difference in fundage to the World Central Kitchen (or wherever) and your karma goes up too. So what to do with hamburger at scale. As it happens... I have a great recipe for ground beef, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and stock that everybody I've ever fed it to, including my MIL, gets addicted to. It freezes perfectly. Here's a tip: grill a bunch of hamburgers on a nice hardwood fire, seasoned however you like. Eat a fabulous hamburger dinner with friends (and lettuce). Freeze the leftover burgers, and then... use them in this dish. We call it 4-Layer Dinner. (edited to fix some nits and omissions)
dijonman2 4y ago
I went to Warsaw to help a Ukranian family, and I went with them to check out the WCK tent and other relief efforts. It was very sad to see, but it was really inspiring to see the generosity and humanity from all the people helping. I donate to WCK, a great organization.
- andrekandre 4y ago
  about wck (world central kitchen) in case anyone is interested https://wck.org/story https://wck.org/story
- UncleOxidant 4y ago
  Chef Andrés and WCK are doing great work. Gives me hope for humanity. I donate to WCK regularly.
tlholaday 4y ago
Scaling.

116 points by prostoalex 4y ago

> In our central relief kitchen in Przemyśl, Poland, we have eight paella pans; each one can feed up to 3000 people. WOW. That's a PAN!

tclancy 4y ago
Bunyan-esque.
joezydeco 4y ago
If you like those pictures check out Harmandir Sahib, the Sikh shrine that feeds 100,000 people a day: https://www.insider.com/worlds-largest-community-kitchen-golden-temple-india-feeds-100000-daily-2021-5 https://www.insider.com/worlds-largest-community-kitchen-gol...
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
  For context - there's 1655 calories in a pound of uncooked rice. Assuming the average meal is >400 calories - you need about 25,000 pounds of rice. That's 500 50-lb bags. That's a lot of food and work if all you were doing was just boiling rice!

AlbertCory 4y ago

from the transcript of [1]: (there are the giant paella pans, and then there's the FIRE!) ==== I fell in love with making the fire. Until one day I told my dad, why don't you let me cook? He said, no, I need you to do the fire. Yeah, but I know how to make the fire. Make somebody else make the fire. I want to cook. No, I need you to do the fire. Paella and fire, hand by hand. If you don't have the right fire, it will never be a right paella. One day, he got very upset, very upset, a big tantrum. He sent me to the forest, "Go to the forest." When we finished, he came and said, "My son, I know you were upset because I'm not letting you cook and you think that cooking is the most important part. But, actually, I gave you the most important task. That was making the fire. If you control the fire, then and only then one day, you'll be able to cook." Since then, I've been always trying to search what really is my fire, what really is what holds everything else. The cooking is the obvious. When we are able to achieve success in the non-obvious is when things begin moving. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD3DNohjBpE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD3DNohjBpE

memish 4y ago

After reading this, I have to say, it's making me rethink my use of DoorDash and putting that money toward relief kitchens instead. I can eat less and cook more.

downut 4y ago
If you cooked your own food from fundamentals, it would be difficult to eat worse than DoorDash, it would be immensely cheaper, and you could send the difference to WFC. Big win win. But it's too hard! It takes too much time! Well, you need a freezer, and a plan, but for HN readers, I think everyone can handle it. Also it's fun buying spices from Penzeys and making up big batches of Indian food, stews of many different cuisines, risottos with many different combinations of yummy things, etc. You eat your fill of the big batch and then it's quart and gallon labelled freezer bags for the rest. Nuke 'em during the week and you're good to go. If you're young, it's a great way to entertain friends, and potentially partners.
- bombcar 4y ago
  The hardest part I find with self-cooking is keeping the greens fresh and in stock. A whole head of lettuce is large for just a single hamburger.
  - downut 4y ago
    Lettuce is not a very good value for the buck in terms of either nutrition or satiating qualities. Neither is an apple, but at least you can make a pork and apple stewed dish that is delicious, scales and will freeze amazingly well. US Southerners have a rich culinary tradition of meat and "greens" stews that do the same. When I was at grad school at UF almost 40 years ago the Hare Krishnas cooked vegetarian Indian lunches at scale free for anyone right on the main quad. It was good, we ate it, even though we could afford a burrito (with lettuce) from Burrito Brothers whenever we wanted. If you look at what either José Andrés or the cooks for the Sikh Temple are serving, they cook for the purpose, not for ephemeral desires. My point, I want to emphasize, is that we culinary plebes can cook for the purpose and it be delicious and nutritious, with a freezer and a plan. Ship the difference in fundage to the World Central Kitchen (or wherever) and your karma goes up too. So what to do with hamburger at scale. As it happens... I have a great recipe for ground beef, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and stock that everybody I've ever fed it to, including my MIL, gets addicted to. It freezes perfectly. Here's a tip: grill a bunch of hamburgers on a nice hardwood fire, seasoned however you like. Eat a fabulous hamburger dinner with friends (and lettuce). Freeze the leftover burgers, and then... use them in this dish. We call it 4-Layer Dinner. (edited to fix some nits and omissions)

dijonman2 4y ago

I went to Warsaw to help a Ukranian family, and I went with them to check out the WCK tent and other relief efforts. It was very sad to see, but it was really inspiring to see the generosity and humanity from all the people helping. I donate to WCK, a great organization.

andrekandre 4y ago
about wck (world central kitchen) in case anyone is interested https://wck.org/story https://wck.org/story
UncleOxidant 4y ago
Chef Andrés and WCK are doing great work. Gives me hope for humanity. I donate to WCK regularly.

tlholaday 4y ago

Scaling.