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Cooks Activity Group

Cooks Activity Group

Welcome to the kitchen at Metini / Fort Ross. The beautiful views, the sounds of daily life and the warmth of the fire make cooking in the outdoor kitchen a pleasure. The abundance of food at Settlement Ross was a luxury. Even the Alaska Natives who were forcefully removed from their homelands to work for Russian American Company still maintained their connection to their traditional foods, while incorporating new types of food into their daily life. Cultural exchanges between the Alaska Native peoples,Kashia, Russians, Spanish and Mexicans created a unique and diverse menu. The exchanges of foods and cooking ideas that took place at Settlement Ross were unique for their time. There was a wide variety of foods available at the historic settlement — raised and hunted meats; fish, shellfish and seaweed harvested from the ocean; cultivated grains, fruits and vegetables; native berries and wild nuts; and trade foods from around the world. This bounty gives you plenty of options in planning your menu.

The Cooks Activity Group is responsible for the Metini / Fort Ross ELP kitchen and the preparation of meals for your class. Your task starts before your arrival at Metini / Fort Ross and continues through your onsite program.

You will be cooking outside on open fires that may be a new and exciting challenge. If it rains hard, you may have to move inside the Officer’s Barracks and use our back up propane camp stove and possibly the pechka (wood-burning oven). If you’re interested in using the pechka, be sure to read through all of the pechka information thoroughly!

Butchering of live animals on site or bringing in weapons is not permitted!!. All butchered meat must be dressed before you bring it to Metini / Fort Ross, according to State Park rules and regulations.

When planning your menu, keep your onsite ELP schedule in mind. Review the menu and recipes in the link provided below, and carefully consider how much time it will take to prepare and cook each menu item. We recommend that you only choose one or two dishes that take a long time to cook. If your class is doing an ELDP (day program, not overnight) then it can be helpful to keep your meals simple and / or find ways of doing some preparation at home to get food cooking faster on site, such as pre-chopping vegetables. We strongly recommend that the students in this group decide on the menu.

The Kashia Pomo have seasonally gathered many foods from the coast at Metini for many thousands of years. Safety permitting, schedule a time to hike down to Fort Ross Cove during your activity group time to safely gather a small, legal limit of seaweed to sample. Check in with your ELP Instructor for directions and safety instructions before visiting the cove, and plan to have one parent stay in the kitchen to keep an eye on the food and fires. To ensure the meals are prepared on time, don’t visit the cove before getting all your prep work done and the cooking is well underway.

Cooks Classroom Preparation -

  • Review the recipes and some eating habits of Kashia Pomo, Alaska Native and Russian peoples
  • Acorn Processing Video - Watch this video to see Essie Parrish preparing acorns for storing and processing into flour in a traditional Kashia way
  • Prepare a menu for dinner, Night watch hot drink and treat, breakfast, and snacks. Keep your dinner menu simple. Breakfast should be kept simple, as well to limit the amount of cleanup required. If your group is having lunch at Metini / Fort Ross, plan for a meal that requires NO cooking and dishwashing — sandwiches and handheld snacks are a good option
  • Have the students choose a variety of foods from the Kashia Pomo, Russian, Alaska Native peoples
  • Purchase supplies that you will need to make the recipes you have chosen. As you pack for the big trip, box the ingredients for each recipe in separate boxes. That makes it very easy to find all your ingredients when you start to cook. Make sure you have critter-proof bins for storing food overnight!
  • For Night Watch we suggest you pack a tin of cookies and cocoa - or other chosen treats - for each activity group for Night Watch. This makes it easier for each group to enjoy their treat
  • (Optional) Ideas - Make a banner for your group; stencil dish towels, tablecloths, aprons, or head scarves to cover their hair; learn to embroider, make a pot holder

Critical Thinking Questions -

Is it easier to find native or imported foods to cook with today? Why do you think that is?

How much of the food that you eat comes from native animals and plants versus introduced species?

Your ELP Instructor will supply –

Kitchen items are in the ELP closet in the Officers’ Barracks.

  • A box of various cooking utensils
  • 2 frying pans
  • 4 griddles
  • 6 stainless steel bowls
  • 9 3-legged cast iron pots
  • 2 flat-bottomed cast iron pots
  • 6 cutting boards
  • 1 butter churn
  • A box of various knives
  • Can openers
  • Ladles
  • Spatulas
  • 3 washtubs
  • 6 buckets

Cooks Classroom Preparation and Onsite Activities –

Cooks Additional Information –

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