It’s said that some of the best coaches in the world were average, at best, when they played the sport of their choosing.
With that in mind, it’s just as well Jim Hinchcliffe is a whizz at marshalling a team full of great volunteers for the annual Canada Day Salmon Bake, because, by his own admission, he can’t cook to save himself.
“I’m good at putting out fires, not so much on the cooking side,” joked Hinchcliffe, who, along with the Sutton Group Seafair Realty team, has been co-ordinating the bake at the Steveston Community Centre for more years than he can remember.
The annual tradition of freshly smoked salmon in a bun is one of the highlights of the Steveston Salmon Festival year after year.
And although everything is cooked fresh on the day, preparation for the bake, said Hinchcliffe, begins many weeks in advance.
“The food (service) application goes to Vancouver Coastal Health about a month prior and its inspector has to come out to inspect the food booths on the morning of the festival,” explained Hinchcliffe.
“We don’t actually get the permit until the morning itself, so everything has to be ready.
“(This) Thursday, the city is coming to prepare the site; lots of work has to be done on the site beforehand.”
Around 1,200 pounds of the salmon itself, said Hinchcliffe, is on order with Richmond-based Canadian Fishing Company, which supplies the fish at a “favourable” rate.
About 200 pounds of salad will be prepared on the morning of the bake, which will be served with 100 dozen or so buns and all the perishables will be stored in a Safeway-donated refrigeration truck on the day.
“Tents have to be put up, as well as tables and chairs and hand-washing stations.”
Oh, and approximately a cord and a half of alderwood (a cord measures at four feet high by four feet wide by eight feet long) firewood has been ordered.
“I’ll be there about 6 a.m. to make sure everything’s in place and we’ll start the fires about 7:30 a.m. They’ll then burn down a bit before we start serving at 11 a.m.,” said Hinchcliffe.
The smoked salmon in a bun with salad will be going for $15 a pop, with all profits going to Steveston Community Centre programs.
“We start selling at 11 a.m. and usually sell out by 3:30 p.m. I’d say we serve around 2,000 meals in total, with the help of our 25-30 volunteers; it’s pretty labour intensive. We raised about $20,000 last year I think.”
