P.E.I. chef trades restaurant dining for feeding 1,500 oilsands workers

Like many Islanders, Ross Munro headed west to work and he took a job in the oilsands of Alberta.

But Munro isn't working in the fields, he'sin charge of feeding hundreds of oil industry workers in Fort McKay, Alta.

Munro has worked at several Island restaurants and his peers named him Atlantic chef of the year in 2012. For the past year, he has taken his skills in Alberta, cooking food for hundreds at a time.

He is the director of culinary operations for ESS, feeding about 800 people a day.

"Well, we're in Alberta and we could have steak night or prime rib just about every night and everybody would be pretty happy," he joked.

In charge of designing the menu every day, he puts out a diverse array of options for workers who come from around the world.

"The expectation is that we would produce a menu that equals our work force," he said. "We have some very talented cooks and we put out a very culturally diverse menu."

'Single most important thing'

Food, he said, is integral to the running of the work site.

"Single most important thing that happens in our environment in the village," he said. "A day where the meal was not exceptional can turn into a lot of negativity so we really, really focus on putting out properly cooked,properly seasoned and incredible tasting food every day."

A day where the meal was not exceptional can turn into a lot of negativity so we really, really focus on putting out properly cooked,properly seasoned and incredible tasting food every day Ross Munro

Trading the intimate setting of a restaurant for hundreds of oil workers has come with its perks. He is in charge of 45 to 65 people every day but he works 18 days and then is home on P.E.I. for 10.

"It's unique as well, because unlike a restaurant ...you get that instant gratification, if you get into the dining room once or twice a night, you maybe touch 10 or 20 people and on a busy night you have 2-300 people in the summer.

"We have 1,500 critics minimum per day, as high as 3,000 critics."

Safety first

A big part of a well-satiated work force is that they're able to focus on their jobs and stay safe, something Munro takes to heart when it comes to preparing their food.

"Our biggest goal other than putting out great food, is the safety aspect, we want people to go home to their families in the same way they came to work in one piece."

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