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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - To most, the mystery of mayonnaise is one simply solved: it comes in a jar, neatly shelved in the supermarket.

TJ Buggins whips up some homemade sauce at Chef Pierre Lepage's camp cook program. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

When desired, the plastic lid is unscrewed, a knife dipped in and the tangy spread smoothed out on whatever meal item it is accompanying.

Things are not so simple, however, for chefs-in-training enrolled in Chef Pierre Lepage's camp cook program.

Making mayonnaise from scratch is just one of the many fascinating mysteries - and highly technical recipes - Yellowknifer TJ Buggins has perfected while training for his new career. Buggins is one of six students currently studying in the program, aimed to give the young cooks the skills to make it in today's luxury camp kitchens.

"It just amazes me when I learn how to make certain things like mayonnaise or hollandaise sauce. I don't know how people thought of it - like how did they think of it? It's such a technical procedure," Buggins mused.

Buggins, who had been working as a cook at the pub Hot Shots for over a year, applied for the program after seeing an ad in the paper - and with a little extra encouragement from his father.

"I never knew what I wanted to do with my life, and when I found this program I actually started thinking about it," he said.

Buggins started the program in November, after beating out dozens of other applicants across the territory for a spot. Along with the other students, Buggins takes math and English courses each morning and in the afternoon hits the kitchen for hands-on training in a kitchen built by Lepage last year.

He said the most difficult part is learning how to make new things, some of which he never gave a second thought to before.

"I never learned a lot of this stuff - like how to make your own broth from chicken or beef. (Before) I just did a western (meal): simple burger and fries," he said. "I had no idea you could take bones and take all these scraps that people throw away and you could throw it into one pot and let it go for eight hours and you have something which is your liquid base for whatever you want to make," he said.

If this all sounds a little fancy for camp cooking, well, that's because it's all becoming much more than meat and potatoes.

"We're trying to step it up a bit beyond the basics, because even in a camp, people are expecting more than 20 years ago," explained instructor Tom Madden, a red seal chef of more than 20 years.

Camp cooking can be difficult because of the sheer quantity of food and the possible need for recipe variations.

"What I'm trying to foster is an atmosphere where all mistakes can be fixed and, because this is a learning experience. This is the place to make the mistakes and to ask the questions," said Madden.

Buggins expects to use his newfound skills to secure a job as an apprentice in a camp cooking, a spot promised to all graduates of the program after they pass the pre-entry trades exam.

In the meantime, Madden and his students will enjoy their creations.

"All good chefs should have an appreciation for good food."