Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Eagle Plains, Yukon (Sep 30/02) - Halfway between Inuvik and Dawson City, Yukon, there's a rest stop, high on a mountain pass.

For truckers and other weary travellers on this rocky stretch of highway, the Eagle Plains hotel, restaurant and RV campground is a welcome respite from the long road -- a warm place with hot food.

At the restaurant, it's easy to mistake 18-year-old Alex McIntosh as just your average busboy. But after he takes your order, he disappears into the kitchen, and when he asks how the meal was, he actually wants to know.

Since his arrival in July, McIntosh has been wowing customers with his artfully dressed burgers, mixed salads, and sophisticated pastas. He's also helped his mother, kitchen manager Lorraine Pizzey, to redesign the menu.

Depending on how busy the highway is, McIntosh can whip up anywhere from 20 to 150 meals during a typical eight-hour shift. Sometimes customers have a hard time believing he's the cook.

"I had this one couple ask me if I cooked the meal," McIntosh says. "I said, 'Yes,' and they said, 'You're way too young to be able to cook like that!' "

McIntosh has always loved to cook, and he knew from the time he was little that he'd grow up to be a chef. It seems to run in the family. His great-grandmother, grandmother and mother have all worked as cooks, and continue to cook great meals today, McIntosh says.

Growing up in Vancouver, McIntosh started cooking around the age of 10. He started with simple meals like Hamburger Helper and Kraft Dinner for himself and his dad.

"As long as I can remember, I always liked being in the kitchen cooking and baking," he says. "But not the cleaning part."

In Grade 12, he transferred schools so he could take a cooking program offered at a different high school. He plans to work at Eagle Plains until February, when he'll start a one-year culinary arts program at Vancouver Community College. After that, he hopes to take his three-year apprenticeship in either France or Italy.

His philosophy for food is simple enough. "You've got to taste it and if it's not the way you want it to taste, then you fix it. It has to taste good," he says. "Some people say it's the presentation. Maybe back in Vancouver that works, but not for the truckers. I've tried that here and people just say, 'Where's the food?' So I just pile it on and make sure it tastes good."