Food

It is incredible how much food is served here, and what kind of variety the cooks can achieve at such a remote place on earth. At the moment it is summer, so with every plane that comes in, there are supplies delivered. Especially fresh stuff like vegetables and fruit.

The day starts here with breakfast (6am to 8am) which can be everything from scrambled eggs, hash browns, breakfast potatoes, bacon etc., via hot oatmeal, to fresh fruit with yoghurt, croissants, toast with all kinds of things to spread on, or cereal. And of course, coffee and tea. And just for good measure, there are cookies and cake available. There is even a cook behind the counter to make you some eggs over easy, if you would prefer that to scrambled eggs.

For lunch (11.30am to 1.30pm) we get normally a full meal, with soup, main course (either vegetarian or with meat), salad, fruit salad, dessert, and of course cake and cookies. Most of the time the main course consists of meat (or the vegetarian alternative), some vegetables and some potatoes, rice or pasta.

For dinner (5.30pm to 7.30pm) there is then, again, a full meal, like for lunch. Just something different than for lunch. I normally eat maximum one warm meal a day, and here it would not be a problem to eat three warm meals a day! I have to be so careful not to overeat here, because there is just so incredibly much food. Beside the hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can always go to the kitchen and get some leftovers if you would like. And the cookies and cake are out for everybody to grab, 24/7. There is even an ice cream freezer where you can just grab some ice cream whenever you feel like it. The same is true, of course, for coffee and tea. And toast. Insane!

The last meal of the day is the midnight meal. People here work in shifts (with the sun up 24 hours, this is not a big problem), and if they work nights, they get some food around midnight. You have to sign up for that otherwise you don’t get anything. Since I am working during the day, and (try) to sleep at night, I have not tried the midnight meal.

On Sundays there are “only” three official meals, brunch and dinner. Since people have Sundays off here, they like to sleep in, and so breakfast and lunch was combined. The brunch is even more excessive than the usual breakfast. You can order omelets there which will be made fresh right in front of your eyes. And you can have waffles, and cheese, and of course all the other breakfast stuff. And all of the meals are free of charge. It’s already included in your travel package (as is accommodation). You just got there, grab a plate, and pile food on it. As I said, insane.