MLAD #0105w
"Foodies"
By: Lonestoner
"We should look for someone to eat and drink with before we look for something to eat and drink." ~Epicurus
Thinking of feeding the Playa people next year? Is it your "American Dream" to impress your fellow Burners with your culinary prowess? Do you want to be the proud chef of the finest eating establishment in Black Rock City? Or maybe you just want to provide a place for dirty hippies with the munchies and danced-out, half-starved ravers to wash down a grilled cheese sandwich with warm Kool-Aid laced with mushroom tea?? Either way, this article provides valuable information to help ensure that your food sharing camp is legal and up to par.
In order to (legally) run a food sharing camp at Burning Man, you will need to apply for a temporary food vendor permit, the application is available for download here: health.nv.gov/BHPS/ehs/eh...TempApp.doc There's a fifty dollar fee to receive this permit, unless you're a religious, charitable, or other non-profit organization, in which case a tax exempt certification or ID number is required. In addition to this, if you are bringing large amounts of propane you will need to notify Harley, Earth Guardian Extraordinaire, at hramazon@burningman.com, so she can get you set up with a BRC permit and notify the fire department if there's an emergency. The statutes and regulations for food service to the public in the state of Nevada (revised statutes 446 and Nevada Administrative Code 446) can be read online at the Nevada Bureau of Health Protection Services website: health.nv.gov./index.php But they are, to quote my esteemed colleague, a long hard read.
To save you a little time and a lot of headache, I contacted a couple of people with experience running a food sharing camp, people who've been there, and done that. The Pancake Playhouse is one of the most well known camps on the Playa, and a great place to have a little breakfast after dancing the night away! Even the Health Department loves them, check out what they had to say about them on page 12 of their official report on BM '05 here: health.nv.gov/BHPS/ehs/Bu...gMan2005.pdf
Cara (Miss Kitchin) Despota, of the abovementioned Pancake Playhouse, was kind enough to respond to my emails and provided the following information. She wrote: "First off, Pancake Playhouse does not store any perishable food, so I don't know anything about that. We use only bagged batter mix and water. Oh, and industrial-sized Log Cabin Syrup too! We have to get a health permit at home, before we leave. Once there, it must be on display before we can start serving. Some years, the Health Dept. comes every day. Other years, it's less often. Each time they visit, they go down a checklist and give us an overall health score. If we have problems, we have to address them, and then the Health Dept. comes back the next day to check up. Some things we have to do: 1. Store all mix, syrup, and water off the ground. We use shelves for this. 2. Cover the floor of the kitchen with tarps or carpet. 3. Everyone in the kitchen must wear a head covering. 4. Servers must wear gloves and use tongs. 5. We may not accept donated items to serve the public. 6. We must wash dishes in a mixture that includes bleach. 7. We must have a designated hand washing station."
When asked if she had any funny anecdotes she'd like to share, Miss Kitchin had this to say: "hmmmmm, funny anecdotes, eh? It's all such a blur... ;) Seriously though, I do remember one year (03?) when a girl came by with a really ragged mullet haircut, she'd "lost" at the haircut roulette camp, and made a special pancake-related request. Judging by the obvious brilliance of the haircut stunt, we should have seen that this was a bad idea, but Pancake Playhouse aims to please. So we put down a tarp, had her lay on it, covered her with piping hot flapjacks, and poured syrup all over her bikini-clad body. Why? Well, she asked for it. But it was gross, and she didn't look all too happy about it once the Log Cabin started flowing. Oh well, it made for a weird and wonderful photo opportunity. The other funny thing I can think of has to do with gifting and bartering at pancake playhouse. Our camp has chose to gift food because people need it and also because there's something special about getting a hot meal on the Playa. We don't encourage bartering however, because we don't necessarily *need* a lot of the things that people see fit to gift. Regardless of this, we tend to collect a lot of donations, and this inevitably ends up meaning a lot of scraps of logoed paper, candy, plastic stuff, and... rocks. "Rocks" you say? Oh yes. Loads of them. Big, small, shiny, garden-variety, you name it. So one year, a campmate had the brilliant idea to collect all of the gifted rocks in a sock. On the final day of serving pancakes, we hung the sock up in the kitchen, and invited all potential rock-givers to forgo their hot breakfast, and instead treat themselves to a nice flogging with the appropriately named "rock sock." The rock sock has since become a yearly tradition at our camp, and one that Pancake Playhouse loves dearly. Look, we know you crazy Playa kids love us. And we love you too. But we also won't hesitate to beat you with your own rocks. ;)
I also contacted Gigi Ficklin from the Random Pizza Experience camp, who may not be as loved by the Health Dept. as Pancake Playhouse, but who receive more than their fair share of lovin from hungry Burners! The following is taken from Gigi's email, presented in interview form:
Lonestoner: Hello Gigi, thank you for responding to my query! If you could take a moment to answer a few questions, I would greatly appreciate it! By the way, you guys are awesome, Random Pizza kicks serious ass!
Lonestoner: What would you say was the hardest thing about running a food sharing camp?
Gigi: Now that we've had four years of working out the kinks, it's pretty easy. The first couple of years it was hard to get the ingredients just right so we didn't run out, but then the Playa always provided! Making sure we have one or two campmates to man the operation is hard. No one likes to commit. We've finally come to the conclusion that if no one is motivated, we just don't open til someone is. Hungry Burners don't like to take NO for an answer. People are constantly asking when we will be open. It's probably easier if you don't advertise... open when you want to be. At Random Pizza Experience, we had an easy answer to our hours of operation: "We are open randomly."
Lonestoner: What was the most rewarding thing?
Gigi: People are so thankful! They love you. They bear gifts. They remember you from year to year. They are willing to help with cleanup, even if they've shown up too late for food. You meet great people. Our first year we spent a lot of time in camp because it was so fun. Let the Playa come to you!
Lonestoner: What advice would you give to first-timers to help them prepare for and pass inspection?
Gigi: The Health Dept. is really nice and easy to deal with once you know the rules. And if you get lax about it, you can always play it off if they suddenly show up for an inspection. "Why aren't you people wearing gloves?!" Pretty much all they want is, a hand-washing station (see below), dish washing station (a three bucket system; soapy water, water rinse, and bleach/water sanitize), you must close every four hours to clean the whole kitchen, and store perishables six inches off the ground. Simple.
Lonestoner: Is it true that you aren't allowed to store food in an RV's refrigerator or freezer? I heard it was considered a "home" and therefore unacceptable. If so, how CAN you store food, are coolers okay, are there temperature regulations?
Gigi: I've never heard that about RV refrigerators and haven't read that in the Health Dept. paperwork either. Coolers are fine to store food and we never had trouble keeping up on the ice by buying every other day. When we've been inspected, they would just say, "It looks like this cooler could use some ice," but they wouldn't shut us down for it. Also, we only kept pretty stable stuff. No uncured meats or egg salad, etc. I've heard some camps get a fridge that runs on propane... and one five gallon tank lasts the whole week.
Lonestoner: What type of handwashing setup do you normally use?
Gigi: Hand sanitizer, baby wipes, and plastic food service gloves. I think technically you need water, which we provide as needed and upon request. Keep in mind that at RPE, participants, not camp members, are preparing the food. Because of the high volume, we do the gloves. But technically camp members are only required to wash hands with soap and water.
Lonestoner: Have you ever experienced any problems from the Health Department, law enforcement, or unruly or impatient Burners?
Gigi: The Health Dept. has been super cool. Yeah, we've been shut down, but they tell you how to comply and all you have to do is fix what they require and you are back up and running... even the same day. Labor Day weekend there is a huge chili cook-off in Reno with real paying customers who expect a restaurant level of clean. It's just not the case on the Playa. If a Burner is grossed out by your kitchen, they will probably not eat. So, in other words, the Health Dept. has better things to do.
Lonestoner: Anything else you'd like to share?
Gigi: There is some great food at Burning Man. It's the perfect gift. You use up what you bring and don't have to cart it home. Plus, there is always something to eat for your own camp. We never get tired of pizza.
-Food and drink do indeed make the perfect gift, for we can not survive without them. In a way, you are giving the gift of life, and what could be better than that?
"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon." ~Doug Larson
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