MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Long lines for the slide and a packed wave pool are familiar sights inside the Aquatopia Waterpark at Camelback Mountain Resort near Tannersville.
All this fun is sure to work up an appetite, and that's why behind the scenes in the kitchen, prep cooks are hard at work, whipping up meals for the hundreds of guests.
When the resort is at its busiest in summer or winter, the resort has nearly 100 workers on the kitchen staff, with about 12 of those people in the kitchen at one time.
"There is always something different happening—everything from catered events to different meals, and with the seasonal nature of a resort, some days are very busy; some days are quieter," said Ken Janos, the director of food and beverage at Camelback Mountain Resort.
Janos started working in kitchens more than 30 years ago. One of his first jobs was as a prep cook.
"We have 19 different food and beverage outlets, we call them—so everything from restaurants, bars, food trucks, huge buffet kitchens like this one that we're standing in now. There's always something that's going on, and there's a million different things that need to be done in a kitchen every day."
So we're adding one more cook in the kitchen. Janos explained what a prep cook does and how they prepare ingredients used in the cooking process.
Janos says vegetables are a part of just about every meal. Peeling them was easy, but cutting the vegetables wasn't.
Janos calls peeling and cutting basic skills because anyone who currently cooks knows how to do them. You'll hone your skills in the kitchen because you could be preparing thousands of pounds of food.
"We have an event for 350, 360 guests, so you can imagine, for example, we're preparing potatoes for that, you know, you're looking at five, six ounces per person. That's hundreds and hundreds of ounces."
Next, we laid out the vegetables on a baking tray. It was time to season them.
"Olive oil, a little bit of salt and pepper, you know, you don't really have to get too crazy about it."
Once all pieces were on, every couple of minutes, we flipped them to get a nice, solid dark grill line.
Like any good cook, Janos says patience is key.
After the vegetables were cooked, we returned to the prep station to plate them.
Prep cooks also learn how to safely handle and store food, maintain the proper temperature of food, and the importance of sanitation and cleanliness of the kitchen.
All of this happens every day in the many kitchens Camelback has on its property. That's why the resort is looking for five more prep cooks to join their team.
"I don't want to say it's an entry-level position, but it's kind of the start of someone's career in the culinary world, and this is really where the rubber meets the road. When this isn't done, we're in a lot of trouble for that event, and it's so important that this be done in an appropriate and organized matter," Janos said.
So the next time you enjoy a bite at one of the many resorts in the Poconos, remember just how much preparation and work goes into the meal you eat.
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