Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (May 30/03) - The aroma of caribou soup and baking bannock is often the first thing you smell as you enter the new Inuvik hospital.

Inuvik hospital chef Kenneth McKinnley pulls a tray of freshly baked bannock from the oven, that will be served with caribou soup to patients and staff. - Terry Halifax/NNSL photo

Located just past reception is the hospital cafeteria and kitchen, where Kenneth McKinnley, supervisor of food services for Aramark Food Services, is busy working on meals and menus for the patients, staff and guests.

McKinnley started his career in the industry 20 years ago, as a porter at Mount Royal College in Calgary and later cooking at various restaurants in Calgary. He also worked as a waiter, but prefers the work in the "back of the house."

McKinnley received his Red Seal certification in 1996 from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

After graduation he took jobs at hotels in Rainbow Lake, Alta., Watson Lake, Yukon, and spent two-and-a-half years cooking at the Mackenzie Hotel.

"I just kept working my way North," McKinnley said.

He's been at the Inuvik hospital for three years now and loves his job, which features a varied menu with some regional flavour.

"We try to do a lot of traditional meals for the clients," he said. "We have caribou soup every second day."

"We used to have coney and whitefish, but there was some concern about the bones in the fish and the patients in long-term care."

He's adjusting to the new kitchen, which is smaller than the space they had at the old hospital, but has some good features.

"We're still trying to find places for everything," he said.

"The doors are nice and wide, so we can wheel a whole pallet of groceries right in, where as before, we had to unpack at the loading dock."

The kitchen has all brand new appliances and some high tech equipment the chef admits he has never used before.

The staff of 14 prepare about 125 meals, three times a day but there are always special clinics and meetings to prepare for.

The cooks all take turns baking and sharing the workload.

McKinnley said they normally use a rotating menu, but with the move, things have been somewhat confused lately.

The new kitchen officially opened last Tuesday and things are running a lot smoother he said.

"Now we're getting back into the routine," he said.