What’s Cooking, Chef Cait?

cait at the barbecue at camp

WHAT’S COOKING, CHEF CAIT?

Picture yourself at Rainbow Lake’s kitchen with Chef Cait—gooey mac and cheese sauce simmering, an oven clock dinging, dishes clattering. As you can imagine, with nine different menus (one for each family camp session), and numerous dietary restrictions, Chef Cait has a lot on her spinning plates!

We want to take you to the heart of camp with a fast-paced Q&A with Chef Cait.

Q: What are the dishes you make that always get the most oohs and ahhs?

A: Mac and cheese is always a hit. Grilled cheese too—and we also make them fancy with apples, bacon, and strawberries! Pizza night is fun. Oh, and the most popular breakfast is always our silly-shaped pancakes. Kids go nuts for ‘dirt and worms’—pudding, Oreo dust and gummy worms—utensils are optional.

Q: What do you love most about being the Rainbow Lake chef?

A: Figuring out what kids like and dislike is my favourite challenge. It’s like a puzzle to put together: special diets, cross contamination, cultural diversity. I get all dietary information the week before each session and we customize the menu accordingly. Even with special diets, we make it an equitable experience so that no one is ‘othered’ or feels ‘different’ because of food. Food is what brings us together! It’s truly a joy to bring fun and whimsy to every meal.

Q: What do you hear from parents?

A: I love when parents have just as much fun at mealtime as kids: they devour their food with gusto, they sing songs, and they make memories with their kids. I hear from families who have kids with allergies or health issues how grateful they are to see the care we put into safety. I’m always happy to talk to caregivers beforehand and during their session to provide any reassurance. I love being able to do that for them.

Q: What is your favourite meal tradition?

A: I have two! First is split dinner night. On the last night we have set up two dinners: caregivers and nursing staff eat an elegant, elevated, restaurant-style meal with fancy decorations. Kids and summer staff eat picnic-style outside: over the fire, lots of mess, veggies and dip, sticky Kool-Aid jugs. Everyone loves it. My second is our ‘no more treatment’ cake. Any kid who has come off treatment can request a themed cupcake and they are all wild and wonderfully unique. Last year, we did 13 ‘no more treatment’ cakes in one day! We dress up, sing a special silly song, and everyone who comes leaves in tears. It’s truly heartwarming.

FROM OUR CAMP KITCHEN TO YOUR HOME AND TUMMY:

Chef Cait’s One-Of-A-Kind Rainbow Cookies!

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups softened butter
  • 2 cups white granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 5 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Food colouring

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar together on low speed until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and beat together for 2 minutes or until well incorporated. Add dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms. Divide dough into 6 balls, increasing in size. Add food colouring to each ball. The largest being red and going down in size with orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Cover coloured balls and chill for at least an hour.

Starting with the violet dough, roll it into a log. Working with the next largest dough ball (blue), roll it into a rectangle and cover the violet dough roll. Repeat until you have covered all the dough balls, red should be on the outside. Cover and chill the log until firm. Cut the log into slices, then in half to form rainbows! The extra ends of the log can be slightly mixed and made into tie-dye cookies.

Place rainbow cookie slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350F degrees for 8-10 minutes until set.

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