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Our cooking team this year has three women (Carol Bunch, Ella Bastine, and Cecilia Bailey). We have been cooking for the Gaithersburg PDA mission team since 2007. Two of the women on the team start preparing at least two weeks prior to the trip. We brainstorm to establish a menu that is cost effective, besides filling all the dietary needs of those attending the upcoming trip. Then we gather the recipes needed and as many ingredients as we can from home, as well as cooking utensils and pots & pans we’ll need, in order to save the team money. We charge each member $60 total for the week of meals. It is our responsibility to prepare breakfast and dinner, and also to supply all of the needed items for the team to pack lunches. We arrive a day earlier than they do, to get several days’ worth of food needed before they arrive.
Our day starts at 5:00 a.m., and ends at 8:00 p.m. Many team members assist in setting out the lunch ingredients and then clean up after meals. Several days we have extra tasks of cleaning ovens, refrigerators, floors, stoves, patios, and picnic tables. All of the GPC team members are very welcoming in inviting the church staff, homeowners, and the sponsoring organization staff to join us for meals.
Best of all, we bring lots of supplies for humor (fake frogs and fake roaches) and fun surprises to the team during the week.
We are looking for apprentices to learn the cooking routine and be ready to take over in the future.
—The Cooking Team
