It’s T for Turkey minus three hours and in the galley at CFB Esquimalt’s Work Point Sunday afternoon, Judith Powell and sister-in-law Lynda are wrapping trays of carrots and potatoes, peas and corn in plastic and tin foil.
Across the room, Judith’s son, Mark, and 11-year-old granddaughter Petra are mixing still more vegetables in a steel bowl, while other family members empty steaming baskets full of cooked carrots.
Overseeing the three-generation kitchen crew is 42-year-old Ryan Orr, a former executive chef at the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort and a key figure behind the Mustard Seed Street Church’s annual Christmas dinner, set to get under way at 5 p.m.
His mother, Lynn Orr, a veteran Mustard Seed volunteer, got Ryan involved about 15 years ago and he, in turn, recruited his longtime friends to help with the food. Two of his crew -- Mark Powell and Angus Stewart -- have known Orr since they were in pre-school together.
It has all led to a finely tuned team that gets the job done with minimal fuss and a heavy serving of fun, said 70-year-old Judith Powell, who puts in two full days in the kitchen, as does most of the crew.
“We have been friends with Ryan since he was three,” she said. “When he needed help doing this, we just came in when he asked.
“There’s a tremendous camaraderie that exists between all of us. We all know each other, and it’s just that idea that it’s a chance to give back to the community.”
The dinner, which is supported by the Times Colonist Christmas Fund and other community donors, served more than 750 people in 2017 and organizers expected to top that number this year.
Orr, who owns the Sooke Oceanside Brewery, said preparation for the event actually begins months in advance when the Mustard Seed sets a date for the dinner at the Bay Street Armoury. He then books the kitchen time, orders the food and -- “If I’m on the ball,” he says -- checks well in advance to make sure everything’s in place.
“In years past, it hasn’t been,” he says, “and it’s been a Saturday and I’m missing like 200 kilos of turkey or something like that.”
This year, Orr and a couple of his crew started work Friday night to make 150 to 200 litres of turkey stock from 45 kilograms of turkey carcasses.
The next morning, a dozen people arrived to cut up 70 loaves of bread for stuffing, dice 70 kilograms of celery and onion, prepare a tomato and basil soup from scratch, and roast about 270 kilograms of turkey.
By Sunday, the crew was back at 8 a.m. to finish the gravy, make the stuffing, cook the vegetables, and turn 190 kilograms of spuds into roasted-garlic mashed potatoes.
When everything was done, the volunteers loaded the food hot into a truck at 4:30 p.m. and hauled it to the armoury in time for the 5 p.m. dinner, which was topped off with pies from the Fairmont Empress.
“I think it’s five or six years that my friends have been involved and it’s kind of turned into this thing that we get together and do every single year,” Orr says.
“And I love it. I mean, from the get-go, with that group of friends or not, there’s something about it that just feels good.”
The Mustard Seed’s Janiene Boice said the annual dinner kicks off the church’s Christmas season and wouldn’t be possible without the $14,000 from people who contribute to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund.
“They set us up with this, and then the fund supports our Christmas hampers and all our toys for our children,” she said. “The Mustard Seed is able to do what we do because of the Times Colonist Christmas Fund.”
Donate to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund
Here are the different ways you can donate to the fund:
- Go to timescolonist.com/donate. That takes you to the Canada Helps website, which is open 24 hours a day and provides an immediate tax receipt.
- Mail a cheque, payable to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund Society, to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund, 2621 Douglas St., Victoria V8T 4M2.
- Use your credit card by phoning 250-995-4438 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Monday through Friday. Outside those hours, messages will be accepted.
